NU: Dark Lord Plus
by 26-Lord-Pain
Summary: AU, Dark/Naru, Naru/Harem. An NU: Dark-Lord Rewrite, with new ideas added to the mix. SUM: Found and saved from death by Gnarl, Naruto and his minions must now gather the Dark-Races together to combat the ruthless Betrayer. And Evil always finds a way...
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing within; this story is merely a way for me to alleviate boredom…

_**NU**_: _**Dark Lord**_ +

_**Prologue**_…

A form makes his way down a long dark corridor, body concealed by the shadows around him. The being passes by numerous portraits and paintings of beings clad in armor, eyes glowing ominously. Slowly coming to a door, the being pushes it open and enters into a small room. Making his way into the room, the being comes to a table and chair. Sitting down, the being reaches a gnarled limb out to take hold of a quill pen. "Now, how does it go? Ah yes…" The being whispered as he looked down at an old book and dipped the tip of the quill into an inkwell as he opened the book, then slowly wrote something into its confines…

?: _Once upon a time, there was, a Beginning. Many, many years ago, longer now than I can hope to remember, there was a man with great and terrible power. He was an odd man, the black sheep of his family, and was known only as The Black Baron; the man eventually forged weapons and armor unlike any other. Forged a way for mere man to harness the powers of Mana and use them as spells. He alone gathered together numerous dying races and created a new one from their ashes, creating the race now known to all simply as Minions. And along with all this, The Black Baron also created a thing known as The Tower Heart, an artifact of great power that bound all he had made to him, and to his family while allowing his children to instantaneously travel across their lands. He was the first, but not the last, to carry the title, of The Overlord…_

The figure slowly reaches a clawed hand up and scratches his head, a single glowing eye looking down at the words as he rubs his chin for a moment. A sly grin slowly crossing his features as he remembers the many passed masters they'd had. However, shaking his head and returning to his writing, the being slowly starts to fall into his memories, wandering down them as he continues to write on about the past…

?: _There were many Overlords after the Baron His young nephew, the Lord of Castle Grumgard, was the first to carry the title into the new age. And after him, five more Overlords came from the family to rule over the lands. I watched, I served, and I protected my masters, all for the sake of my true mission, handed to me by my master The Black Baron. All of our masters were descended from The Black Baron, all but one, who is now known only as, The Betrayer. Called as such because he tried to force the true power of the Overlord from our master and us at the time… He'd been a mere substitute before, but when he returned he wished for the full power of the Overlord, and of course, neither our master nor we liked that idea…_

In a dark and evil place known as the Netherworld, a massive upside-down tower shakes and shutters. Within the tower a massive being with dark blue skin with glowing circular shapes rolled out of the way of a fireball. A red scarf with furred underlining is placed around his neck and shoulders with a matching red and furred loincloth hanging from his waist with armor covering his body, a yellow jewel glowing on his left arm brightly, a massive broadsword clutched in his right hand, as he narrows his glowing yellow eyes onto his opponent.

Apposing him is a man wearing a black scarf and loincloth, his own armor was made of an odd material, a broach was positioned on his scarf with the face of a Minion on it, numerous curved spikes also jutted from the armor, some brown spikes also coming from underneath the armor as a part of his body, a similar yellow jewel forged into his own left gauntlet, clutched in his own right hand was a fierce looking battle ax, his helmet bearing three upward spikes like a crown of some form, his own glowing white eyes glaring out at the other armored man.

Holding a hand to the side, the sword wielding man called a batch of odd, tiny creatures forward before sweeping them towards his enemy. The gem on his gauntlet gave off a bright yellow glow as he did so, but his opponent merely did the same, both batches of the tiny creatures slamming into one another. The many swords and axes of the two forces clashed, daggers and fireballs rained down upon them as the two armored warriors watched on while catching their breath. Soon the forces of tiny creatures abated and the armored warrior slammed a hand into the ground.

A creature made of fire suddenly roared as it pulled itself from the earth, the sword wielder gritting his teeth as he called forth more tiny creatures to attack it. Narrowing his eyes, the sword wielder then quickly whipped his arm towards the other man, a bolt of lightning flowing from his fingertips as he did so and lashing out at all it touched. Rolling out of the way, the ax wielder threw a fireball at the sword wielder. Rolling out of the way of another fireball the younger of the two narrowed his eyes on the ax-wielding man. Lunging forward both warriors slammed their weapons into the other, sparks flying from the impact.

"Surrender! Your not worthy of this power." The man with the ax insisted while pushing down on it, forcing the one with the sword to one knee.

"You talk to me of worth when you're not even a true Overlord… Hero?" The sword wielder commented, amusement in his eyes as the ax wielding man's white eyes flared dangerously.

"You will suffer for that worm!" He growled out furiously while lifting his ax and holding it overhead. Slamming the weapon downwards the man was knocked off his feet as the younger man rolled himself forward. Reaching out, the younger of the two took hold of the yellow gem in his opponent's gauntlet, and then roared out as he ripped it from his armor. Crying out the older of the two kicked the armored behemoth off of him and turned his furious eyes onto him.

"I swear to you now, that you will suffer in the infernal abyss just as I did!" He rumbled before lunging forward, the younger of the two throwing the yellow gem to the side before blocking the battle-ax.

"What's the matter old man?" He taunted while pushing his sword forward, causing the other warrior to take a step back. "Starting to feel your age catching up to you?" He questioned darkly before kicking the man, knocking him forward. Reaching to his left gauntlet, the younger warrior ripped the yellow gem from his own arm and tossed it towards the first. "No more minions, now it's just you and me…" He uttered ominously, the ax wielder growling low in his throat as he slowly stood up.

"You would have been wise to keep that, you'll need the Minions help if you actually wish to stop me!" He roared out while lunging forward, sword and ax clashing as sparks flew off of each. In the shadows, a pair of clawed hands suddenly grasped the two yellow gems and then hobbled off. Rushing about the tower he saw Minions scrambling, a few brown ones quickly rushing to his side.

"What we do Gnarl?" One of them questioned and the old grey grunted.

"We need to find Mistress Kelda, the Master can't hold off that damn hero for very long." Gnarl replied while hobbling down a long hall, soon spotting the said woman carrying a bow. "Mistress!" Gnarl exclaimed while rushing to the woman, the Browns stopping her from going any further.

"Out of the way Gnarl, he needs our help!" She stated and Gnarl shook his head.

"No milady, the master is allowing his bloodline to survive. We must escape now while we still can!" Gnarl stated and the woman tried to run passed them, only for three browns to quickly jump her and start carrying her off.

"Gnarl stop this at once! I can fight, I don't need to be hidden away like some fragile little doll!" Kelda insisted while the sounds of battle began to grow fiercer, the tower shaking and shuddering as it started to fall apart.

"Regardless milady, you carry the masters child, we must ensure your survival above anything else." Gnarl replied while snapping his fingers, the Minions carrying Kelda off as he followed after them. "Hurry, hurry! We'll have to escape to the world above if we want to survive!" Gnarl exclaimed as they all rushed towards a wall, one of the Minions brandishing a pick ax as he started to dig his way up, a second Minion with a hammer doing likewise. Bracing himself Gnarl gritted his teeth as he heard the sounds of battle escalate, the sounds of armor being pierced echoing down the many halls of the netherworld tower.

"Hurry, hurry! We don't have time for any of your usual lollygagging!" Gnarl shouted as the browns began to dig faster, a second grey rushing to his side, bearing a glass eye, while carrying a rattle and wearing a jesters cap with numerous circle shaped tattoos over his body. "Quaver, have the Minions taken their hives up above as ordered?" Gnarl demanded quickly and the Jester quickly nodded his head.

"Aye Aye Gnarl! They've all headed upwards with the hives, I even had some browns move the grey hive as well!" Quaver explained while Gnarl nodded his head with a thin frown over his face, stroking his beard thoughtfully as Kelda struggled with her tiny captors.

"If you little runts don't let me go this instant, I swear I'm dipping you all in boiling hot oil and nailing you to the walls by your damned oversized ears!" Kelda started to scream and shout at them furiously and Gnarl couldn't help a grin.

"Ah, the master truly picked the perfect First Mistress with that one." Gnarl mused before shaking his head and ordering the browns to head upwards with the diggers. "Come Quaver, the Netherworld is no longer a safe place for The Overlord or any of his bloodline, if that bastard Hero could make it down here, then I'll just bet that anyone can!" Gnarl grumbled as he followed after the diggers with the screaming Kelda still in their clutches.

"But what about the Master then, Gnarl? What'll happen to him?" Quaver questioned as they journeyed further up the small tunnel and Gnarl frowned darkly.

"The master… his children will live on, and through them, a new Overlord will be born, Quaver. But until the time is right, we must watch and wait. After all… Evil always finds a way…" Gnarl explained, ending with a sinister look as the Netherworld tower began to crumble from the two battling warriors power…

?: _The Betrayer was powerful, he decimated our lands, he destroyed our tower, and he murdered our masters time and time again. For over two hundred years he was a plague upon our dark nation, even driving those few remaining Minions and myself into the dark depths of the Underworld after he destroyed the Netherworld Tower and came for us as we hid up above. Time and time again we were forced to watch on as our master's family was destroyed and we ourselves scattered to the four winds. His grandchildren would fall before we could ever get to them to carry on the tradition and powers of The Overlord… save for a stray few, with one in particular…_

A man and woman are on a war torn battlefield, a massive nine-tailed-fox nearby and a baby resting between them. The red haired woman has blood flowing from her mouth as well as dark rings around her eyes as she looks up at the blond haired man. She managed only to let out gasping pants while, unseen to most; a haunting figure lay behind the blond man, a stream of energy flowing towards it from the man's back. Meanwhile, the massive fox is held at bay by numerous glowing chains formed out of the woman's back. However suddenly the arm of the creature twitched, the sacred beads around its left arm clacking before its arm flew from it and threw the blond man, then straight for the giant fox.

'_**Curse you, Yondaime Hokage!'**_ The creature roared inwardly as the hand ripped out something from it before pulling it into the man himself. As it did, the Kyuubi snarled as he was shrunk down greatly, now less than a third of its original size.

"Seal!" He cried out as the energy was sealed into his body, the energy that had been seeping towards the ghostly figure taking on the image of the man, only with a second head the head of the fox. As his seal does its job, the man pants heavily, the massive fox shrinking greatly as it grunted and glared towards the man furiously. "Now for the eight trigrams seal!" The man said while kneeling down and summoning a strange throne of some kind from out of nowhere.

"I'll seal the Kyuubi inside of Naruto!" The man states while the beast glares furiously while realizing what's going on. Feeling some slack in the chains binding it, the fox blinks before a wide; vicious grin stretches across its face as it sees the red haired woman nearly pass out. "Kushina, stay with me!" The blond man pleads while the Fox rears back its right arm and then throws it towards the two and their child in order to save itself from being sealed once more. However before its claw could reach the child, the man and woman blocked its path, the woman smirking towards her lover.

"If the father can do this job…" She managed in a weak rasp as the Yondaime eyed her from behind. "Then the mother should be able to do it better… Right?" She questioned of the man while the Kyuubi narrowed its eyes on them.

'_**Damned Ningen!'**_ It thought darkly while trying to raise it's other arm, only to look to the side when it noticed it couldn't move it. Narrowing its massive eyes, it then spotted several tiny creatures, lots of them, and they were tying its arm down. _**'What?'**_ The Kyuubi wondered to itself before recognizing one of the creatures, its eyes widening in shock, before a sinister grin crossed its features.

"Move it you Blues and keep the barrier around us! We can't have those annoying mortals getting to close to the young Master before us!" A familiar one eyed being shouted to the others before growling as some played around. "Get back to work you worthless sacks of blood and puss! Our master needs us! Chain up that overgrown Fox Spirit or I'll cut out your damn tongues!" The creature cried out while the Kyuubi stared at them for a moment, only for a wider, even more insidious grin to stretch across it's muzzled face as it turned to look down at Kushina's child.

'_**So you were of THAT side of the Uzumaki Clan! Ha! No wonder I could never control you…'**_ It thought to itself with clear amusement twinkling in its ruby red eyes while Kushina somehow heard it and glared up at it. _**'Glare at me all you want Ningen! It no longer matters! Take half my power, hell you can take all of it! It won't matter for you have given me a gift beyond measure this day! And even if you should die, THEY won't let you stay dead for very long!'**_ The Kyuubi inwardly exclaimed before chuckling in its throat, only for that Chuckle to become a deep, sinister laughter as it was then pulled into the blond haired child.

Gritting his teeth the blond man bellow watched on as red energy was pulled out of the fox and into the bundle. _**"Foolish mortal…"**_ An ominous voice echoed in his mind and the blond man turned to see the Shinigami looking down at him and his lover Kuzhina. _**"You have no idea the true depths of the mistake you've made on this day…"**_ It uttered while the blond man fell forward, on top of his lover, both silent while the baby lay before them unharmed…

Seconds later, a group of strange creatures approached, and one with a Scythe walking next to the one eyed one from before. "Gnarl, the mistress be dead." The one with the scythe noted with a frown while walking forward and tapped her with the butt of his scythe for a moment. "Even if I were to resurrect her, she never bonded with the Tower-Heart, she could never be an Overlady as her mother was before her…" The creature said with a scowl across its features only for the one eyed grey creature to walk passed him and over to the sleeping babe.

"Perhaps Mortis… but, she did have a Son." The creature noted before stroking its goatee with a sick grin on its face.

"Aye, at least we have that bit a good news." The elderly blue mused before seeing a look form on Gnarl's face.

"Yes, and if Mortals haven't changed in the last few centuries, our master's life will be in grave danger very shortly… they always did attack first and ask questions never when it comes to beings they can't understand." Gnarl noted thoughtfully and the aged blue agreed with him.

"Then do we bring him with us?" The blue questioned and Gnarl shook his head with a deep frown across his face.

"Nay old friend. We are incapable of taking care of a baby as we are. We have no home ourselves, or even a nanny for the little fellow. And of course our master will require love and affection from someone, something that we are incapable of… The woman who would have been our Mistress on the other hand…" Gnarl noted before leaving off with a toothy grin and the blue smirked.

"I see, ye be wanting me to resurrect her then, even if she can't claim the throne?" Mortis questioned and Gnarl gave the elderly blue a look, causing him to mumble under his breath before cracking his neck. "Alright then, however I should warn ye I'll need to sacrifice most a de other Minions and return to the Blue Hive after I do… takes too much a me power to resurrect humans when we don' even have The Tower-Heart…" Mortis tells Gnarl and the grey colored creature grunts.

"Regardless Mortis, it is a risk that we must take. We can only hope that she'll be smart and live for a couple more years, long enough to care for our Future Master at the very least." Gnarl muses to himself and Mortis nodded before slowly making his way over to the bodies, the Browns, Greens, Reds, and Blues, moving them both onto their backs as he approached them…

?: _He was my favorite Overlord, he wasn't more evil than others, nor more good. He wasn't too manipulative or too compassionate. He wasn't the strongest, the wisest, or even the most Powerful Master we've ever had… no, he was an Overlord who understood and walked down the True Path of Darkness. He was an Overlord unlike any other… ah, I remember when we first visited him in his cradle… it was such a glorious day for us, a day for us to see the future Face of Evil…_

In a dark room, a sleeping babe of three years old turns onto his back and looks up out of his cradle. A claw suddenly closes over the edge of the cradle, a figure with a glowing yellow eye looms over it. A crooked grin crosses the features of the onlooker as he looks down on the babe with dark intent. "Greetings young master. You will have a life full of questions. But I know what is in your blood." The yellow eyed being said while looking to the sleeping babe intently. "You have a great destiny ahead of you, one filled with violence and chaos I'm sure! Once you grow a little, find us, we wish to serve you my young lord…" The being said as the babe looked around it and blinked.

All around its cradle, numerous glowing yellow eyes stared down at it, a flash of light illuminating them for but a moment. Many were yellow-brown monsters, others were red with glowing stomachs, more were bright blue with fins, still more were green with a visible stench wafting off their bodies, and the last was in the center of them all and looking down at him with a single yellow eye, his own skin a pale gray…

"We have been waiting for you for a long time master, we have need of you as you shall of us. Together, we will remind this world of true darkness, together, we will ensure that Evil does not wither and die. We will return order to the chaos of the world by reminding these fools of their true Master… The Overlord." The gray being explained with a toothy grin, the tiny babes eyes staring intently into the aging creature's single yellow eye… his azure blue eyes slowly giving off a feint glow…

Seconds later a door opens; all of the creatures seemed to have vanished as a tired red haired woman walks into the room. Moving over to the cradle she reaches inside to retrieve the babe before hugging him tightly. "C'mon Naruto-Kun, lets get you something to eat." The woman whispers while walking out of the room, a single yellow eye opening behind her, a toothy grin widening into something sinister as she leaves…

?: _Our young master's mother had no idea the destiny that lay before her little babe, nor of the power that he would eventually wield. None would or could understand the destiny that lay before our young Lord. Only I, The Minion Master and Advisor to The Overlord, could possibly understand what he was to be. I watched over the young master, I left him food, clothes, anything that would make his life easier until he could take control of his own life and destiny. However, I was sadly unable to protect his mother, twice actually, something I can never forgive myself for allowing…_

A red haired woman was thrown out of a burning building before she suddenly hit the snow-covered ground with a soft thud. Groaning in pain she looked up as an armored man stomped towards her. "W-why are you doing this to me?" She questioned weakly before gasping as the man lifted her up by the throat.

"Believe me when I say that I would rather not have to murder you… anything or anyone killing a helpless woman has always disgusted me." The armored behemoth uttered softly while brandishing a battle-ax. "But we've traveled too far to end the Overlord's Lineage to allow you to ruin it." The man stated while six warriors of various races came towards him.

"Are you certain that there's no other way?" An elfin woman questioned warily while looking to the red haired woman as she grasped at the man's wrist.

"You know the legends Fay, if we allow even one descendant of Those old Overlords to survive, they will rise up as dark monsters bent on the destruction or total domination of the world." A male Wizard commented while stroking his long beard, the armored behemoth narrowing his eyes on the wizard… out of all these so-called heroes, he promised that he'd be the first to go…

"I say we deal wit her quick and painlessly, the lass aint no monster yet, best not make her end too painful." A Dwarf states and the massive behemoth nods his head in agreement with his words.

"Why… I've never hurt any of you, why are you doing this?" The woman demanded and the Betrayer twitched, he didn't like some of the things he did, but he had sworn that the power of the Overlord would be his once more!

"It's because of your family wench, a family filled with dark warriors bent on conquest. Their blood flows through your veins, and we cannot allow another 'Overlord' to come into power." A young Thief commented while brushing her own crimson locks over her shoulder.

"It's not any fault of your own girl, it's the fault of your family, a lineage that we cannot allow to continue." The armored warrior stated while his glowing white eyes gazed deeply into her amber brown orbs. "Be thankful that I am merciful, your grandfather truly suffered far worse than you will…" He then whispered and the woman's eyes widened before she gritted her teeth in fury.

"You!" She shouted only for him to constrict on her throat, making her gasp as her air was cut off.

"Oi, would you get on wit it already, I've got a business to get back too." A Halfling with a pair of sunglasses grumbled out, the former Overlord nodding his head in agreement.

"Now, I will finally end the lineage of the Overlord…" The man stated while throwing the woman to the ground and then quickly twisting on his heel and bringing his ax down on her… in the shadows, the single eye of Gnarl watched on before closing as the body of Uzumaki Kushina stilled. Backing into the shadows, Gnarl started to dig down into the dirt and ground, soon disappearing as the death of his master's descendant weighed down on him heavily…

?: _That was the beginning… but this is the story, of what happened next._

(Konohagakure no Sato…)

A figure walked down the cold snow covered streets of Konoha. The snow was a rarity there, and from the looks of the ground, he could tell that the human children had been playing in the snow. "Bothersome bothersome humans." He said mostly to himself before grunting as a different figure walked passed him, bumping into and nearly knocking him over as he did. "Giblet!" He hissed out and the other figure slid to a halt only to slide into a light pole and groan.

Chuckling to himself upon seeing this, the first figure reached up to a goatee on his chin and stroked it for a moment. "Hmm… now where is he? I know I sensed his power finally awakening." He muttered to himself while looking all around and Giblet made his way over to the ancient creature.

"Who you look for Gnarl?" It asked with a wide stupid grin and "Gnarl" blinked for a moment before glaring at Giblet.

"The Master of course you fool! I told you I sensed a pulsation from the Tower Heart, even from wherever that blasted thing was taken. Which can only mean a new Overlord has finally been chosen to lead us." Gnarl explained and Giblet made an Oh with his mouth before blinking for a moment.

"Then where he at Gnarl?" Giblet questioned and Gnarl reached up and palmed his face for a moment before glaring at the, slightly, younger creature.

"If I knew that Giblet I wouldn't be looking for him now would I!" Gnarl demanded of the other Minion loudly and Giblet blinked before slowly shaking his head and the older Minion nodded his own once. "Exactly. Now, the master is in this village, I know that much, but not where, without the Tower Heart, or much of anything else, I can't pinpoint his exact location." Gnarl admitted while rubbing his chin and Giblet blinked before he started to scratch at his scalp.

"Uh, den why are we's out here? Shouldn't we's be using Overlord Gem to find him?" Giblet asked and Gnarl blinked for a moment before mulling that over and then shook his head with a frown.

"Those only pinpoint Minion Locations not Overlords, Giblet. And besides that…" Gnarl started to say only for both he and Giblet to suddenly shiver violently, their eyes widening as one thought hit them both. Eyes widening, both turned to look towards the distance and shivered once more as a surge of powerful magic surged through each of them, desperately calling for aid.

"THE MASTER IS IN DANGER!" They said at the same time before rushing towards where a strong feeling was coming from, jumping into the trees as they did so. Quickly the two then dug there way down, intent on staying concealed on the off chance of any humans being about…

(Outskirts of Konoha…)

A twelve-year-old boy was slowly crawling down a snow-covered road, one eye bloody and beaten in, one arm and leg hanging limp. He had just been rammed through a brick wall of all things, but had still somehow managed to survive the attack on his person, only to then fall several stories and hit the ground hard. He was now crawling towards a nearby forest while a man jumped out from the hole in the wall of the building behind him. Landing in a low crouch with a heavy thud, his armor churning and scraping like some kind of shell as he approached. Trying desperately to hurry, the youth winced as several burns started to ache and scream out in pain.

'_Why… why is this happening, what the hell did I do to piss this guy off?'_ He inwardly questioned even as his assailant made his way towards the blond haired youth; his heavy footfalls echoing down the abandoned street. Nearly reaching the forest, the boy cried out in pain when a heavy metal boot suddenly stomped down onto his back to pin him. Gritting his teeth and turning his head, the boy saw the dark figure that had chased him throughout the city narrow his glowing white eyes.

"**Your remarkably resilient for such a little runt."** His deep rumbling voice noted as he moved his foot from the boy's back, then reached a hand down and lifted the boy up by his hair. Gritting his teeth in pain and grabbing the wrist of the man with his good hand the youth turned a single, glowing blue eye up towards the monster like man.

He was tall, twice his own height at the very least, with brightly glowing hellfire red eyes, he was adorned in obsidian colored armor with numerous spikes jutting out of it at the joints, a purple scarf worn around his neck with a skull broach, a purple loincloth built into the armor with a chain hanging at his left side, his fingers covered by sharp metal claws and a massive battle-ax hanging at his side, oddly his face was covered by a black chain-mail mask over his lower face, a helmet with three upward spikes placed over his head like some sort of evil crown.

"Wh-what have I ever d-done to you?" The youth questioned of the armored behemoth and the man chuckled low in his throat.

"**It's not what you've done to me, its what you could do to me in time. You are of that accursed Bloodline that doesn't seem to want to die no matter how many of it I destroy… unfortunately for you, that is why I cannot allow you to live."** The man said in a low baritone voice that chilled the youth to his very core. **"There can be only one Overlord Child, and I've waited far too long and destroyed far too much to allow you to ruin my plans now…"** He rumbled out darkly, burning red eyes narrowing on the youth as he pulled his battle-ax free and held it in one hand.

In the forest however, a barren patch of the ground suddenly stirred, while a pair of clawed hands suddenly burst free. The clawed hands then brushed off its leather-covered shoulders before a tiny figure hobbled over to a tree. Behind the first was a second who's own glowing yellow eyes narrowed and a hiss escaped his throat. Growling lightly the first turned towards the second and it quieted down while the first turned back to look at the scene. It's single glowing yellow eye widened upon seeing the blond in the clutches of the man and quickly looked around for any kind of weapon. Then smacked the second and it nodded, grabbing a heavy looking wooden stick before both grinned…

Back with the man and the boy, the armored assailant gripped his battle-ax tightly, a thin frown across his hidden features. Killing an innocent woman, AND a widowed mother at that, was bad, but could he honestly murder a child he'd orphaned? One whose mother he'd stolen from him? Yes. If he was honest with himself, yes he could do that and oh so much more for the power of The Overlord… he'd murdered, plundered, destroyed, and utterly decimated anything that would have hampered his plans. Besides that, no one would miss one little boy, least of all this one. So with that in mind the behemoth lifted his ax up, only to cry out in pain and fall to one knee as his other was slammed into from behind, causing him to kneel.

Before he could turn or get up, a dagger was then stabbed threw the back of his other knee and caused him to fall down, one hand on the ground while the other remained around the throat of his captive. Turning his head the behemoth was accosted by a quick moving brown figure, slamming a club into his face. The behemoth lost his grip on the boy and a grey figure quickly grabbed him from under his shoulders and fell back with a grunt. Grunting and growling in his throat, the behemoth opened his eyes and then clenched his fists while Gnarl grunted and tried to pull back the boy.

"**Gnarl."** The man growled furiously upon seeing the all too familiar figure, said ancient minion grunting as he quickly dragged the blond haired child away. Growling out in fury, the man pushed himself back to his feet only to fall, looking to his leg he saw a Kunai had been stabbed through his leg through the opening at the back of his knee joint. And worse still, the perpetrator who did so grinned up at him.

"Hi hi!" Giblet offered before slamming his club into the kunai's butt, forcing it further through the behemoths knee and causing him to fall forward while Giblet rushed over to a smirking Gnarl.

"It seems someone has lost his touch, eh Traitor?" Gnarl noted and the behemoth glared up at him furiously, only to hiss in pain as he pushed himself up once more with his teeth gritted under his mask. Reaching down and gritting his teeth once more the armored behemoth ripped the weapon from his leg and let out a strangled cry.

Meanwhile, the gray creature had dragged the blond haired boy away with the help of the brown one. The two pulled him away from the behemoth and into a building and then down into a basement. Releasing the legs of the blond haired boy the gray creature hurriedly waddled over to his side. As he did, the brown looked down at the badly injured youth worriedly while Gnarl reached out and took hold of the sides of the blond's face with his hands.

"Sire, sire, please tell me your alright!" He pleaded, only the opening of the blond boy's eyes proving he was still partly conscious. "Oh, this is bad, very very bad! And not in the good way." Gnarl mused then said to himself as he looked around then growled as the armored behemoth from before stumbled then fell down the stairs of the building. Slowly he reached up and grasped something before pulling himself to his feet only to glare at Gnarl and Giblet furiously.

"**Gnarl you little pest."** He hissed and Gnarl quickly looked around for something to use as a weapon, Giblet growling as he crouched down to attack. Grunting upon not seeing anything to use as a weapon, Gnarl pulled the boy back while the man slowly pushed himself towards them while using a wall to brace himself. However, Giblet then lunged forward and slammed into the behemoth, knocking him down to the ground before making his way over to Gnarl and the boy.

"That'll teach you! We won't allow you to harm our new master, traitor!" Gnarl growled out while giving a sidelong look to Giblet, and the man glared at the two minions furiously.

"**Me the Traitor? No its you and your damned Tower Heart, I was the Overlord before that stupid barbarian came along, I am more powerful than any of his line, I deserve that title and the power that comes with it! Not him, not that wench of a woman before, and certainly not this little whelp!"** The man growled out furiously once more and Gnarl merely scoffed while looking around, noting the old dry wood around them…

"So you say traitor, but you were the one who attempted to steal the power of the Tower Heart. That is something we can never forgive! You can beat us, kick us, crush us, bash us, slash us, incinerate us, boil us, or dozens of other fun things… but when you try to steal the heart, no, the very soul of our masters power you've gone too far! We will never obey the likes of you!" Gnarl hissed and the Behemoth felt one eye twitch while Gnarl focused his eye onto the dried wood around them, Giblets eyes suddenly zoning out before a grin split his face…

"**Then I'll just kill you and take back the power by force!"** He roared out while throwing a fireball at Gnarl. The Minion Master widened his eyes, only for Giblet to move forward slamming his club into the fireball and sending both flying. The club and the fireball flew across the room before slamming into the main support beam to the building and snapping it instantly. Grinning as he heard the building start to creak, Gnarl looked up to the behemoth and narrowed his eye.

"Sadly, we can't allow that. We do hope you have no regrets… well… not really. Especially since we have more important things to worry about." Gnarl mused and then turned to Giblet as the house started to come down on top of them. Roaring out, the armored behemoth pushed himself back up and lunged towards the old minion, his eyes widening. "Giblet, hurry, let's get out of here now!" Gnarl ordered and Giblet nodded before he picked up a large rock and threw it, nailing the armored behemoth in the face.

Grunting, the behemoth was knocked back and was left sprawled out on the ground for a moment, groaning lightly while Giblet began to dig, Gnarl following him and doing the same with him before both reached out and pulled the blond boy with them and into the ground. Gritting his teeth and slowly sitting up, the Betrayer turned towards the hole and saw Giblet pop back up and wave with a grin.

"Bye bye!" He offered cheekily and then ducked back into the hole while the building began to fall in on the betrayer. Gnashing his teeth together, the behemoth's eyes flared in fury before roaring out.

"**GNARL!"** His scream echoed against the falling building as it collapsed on top of him only mere moments later, burying him under its weight as flames then consumed the building, setting it all ablaze…

TBC…

AN: To all those wondering why I never updated NU: Dark-Lord, it's because I found a plethora of spelling mistakes, plot-holes, and inconsistencies and figured that in the time I could fix them I could probably just right a new story. I wanted to work on the story, I really did, but the mistakes had compiled to make a batch of problems, there was confusion to Naruto's lineage, (IE: He was not related to the Lich-King of WOW, I mentioned a Lich because of Overlord I's Old-Overlord. The "Death Knights" also confused people to believe he was his descendents but a title like that is fairly common.), among other more minor things that just irked me.

The differences between the two versions of this particular story will be numerous, with a very slightly altered storyline that will include many races in Naruto's lands, to places he never went too before as well as things that I just forgot to include in the original, this story will also have longer chapters, as in the beginning Dark-Lord had about eight pages per-chapter before I started to lengthen them, it will also include new races and lands from several games I've played, as well as feature several ideas from my reviewers, something I do with many of my stories.

It will, however, still feature several of the original characters from the first version, including Zim and the other goblins, but they will be met much earlier on. The basic plot of the story will remain unchanged as well, Naruto gathers the Dark-Races of the world to contend with the Light-Races and the betrayer, while taking revenge on the heroes who murdered his mother along the way. And I will also still include a list of all the most important characters at the end of chapters when they start to become more numerous like I did before.

Anyways, for those who actually want me to return to the original version, instead of working on a new version of the story. I ask you to please give this one a chance, I'll work on the first several chapters for this one, and then based on popularity, I'll decide which one I should fully work on. However if I do decide to work on the original, I'll have to go back and rewrite several things in that story anyways because they don't make any sense or just led to confusion. Just remember, I've actually played Overlord II this time, so it includes parts of it, and Overlord Dark Legend, without having to retroactively add them to the story…


	2. Welcome Sire

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing within; this story is merely a way for me to alleviate boredom…

[Gnarl: Didn't you use that Disclaimer last chapter Master?

Lord Pain: Ah shit not this again, are we really going to start talking to each other before every chapter again?

Giblet: Why not? Sound like fun!

Gnarl: It does offer a little bit of amusement to your readers Sire, and surely it isn't too hard for one such as yourself.

Lord Pain: Well… as long as I get to beat on the Jester to alleviate my frustrations over it… I guess I can allow it.

Gnarl: We'd be insulted if you didn't master.

Giblet: Yeah! Jester going to get beat up!

Jester: I think I'd like to go back to the old story… where I wasn't The Jester anymore… please?]

_**NU**_: _**Dark Lord**_ +

_**Chapter 1**_: _**Welcome Sire**_…

"Normal Speech"…

'_Normal Thoughts_'…

[Radio/Tower Heart In Use]…

"**Jutsu In Use**"…

"**Demon Speech**"…

'_**Demon Thoughts**_'…

"_**Inner Spirit Speech**_"…

(Konoha…)

At the west side of Konoha, a building smoldered while AnBu rushed too and fro to prevent the flames from spreading out. Within those flames a hand burst forth and then dragged a wounded figure out of the rubble. Panting, the man known simply as "The Betrayer" growled under his breath and pushed his body to his full utterly imposing height. Groaning and closing his eyes as a hiss of pain echoed from his lips, the man looked down to where he was holding his bleeding side.

"**Damn Gnarl… and Giblet to the depths of the Infernal Abyss and back…"** He growled out before noticing the AnBu working and ducked back down. Allowing himself to be noticed was not something he wanted at the moment, especially not if he'd be noticed by the blasted Shinobi of this land. No, being noticed was not something he needed at the moment, given how easily Gnarl and Giblet had managed to catch him off guard and keep him from killing that brat, he knew he had been severely limiting himself in terms of power.

If he was to ever reclaim the position and power of Overlord, he needed to re-hone his skills and defeat this new one himself. Stumbling into the flames while holding his wounded side, The Betrayer looked to the sky and narrowed his eyes, hate clearly visible in them. **"Take care young Overlord… for when I return, I will take back my power."** The Betrayer said with a grunt while looking to his arm and growled when he saw one of his Gauntlets was gone.

Deciding to cut his losses and leave the object behind, The Betrayer made his way further into the flames before casting a spell. Instantly a swirl of fire formed into a portal of some kind and he walked into it, leaving the burning building behind, his gauntlet still trapped under rubble and debris from the burning building…

(?)

Deep beneath the Elemental Nations, digging their way through rock and dirt into several ancient tunnels are two familiar, gremlin-esque creatures. One of the creatures is old, the other one seemingly young looking in comparison to the first, while both are dragging a very familiar blond haired youth with them. "No, no Giblet! It's this way not over there!" Gnarl shouted at his temporary "Second in Command" with a deep frown while they dug their way through the underground.

"But Gnarl, me knows this is way to tunnel!" Giblet shouted at Gnarl while behind them, leaned against a wall was the young "Overlord".

"So you say but we both know how bad your memory is!" Gnarl reminded with a glare to Giblet and he frowned before ramming through a wall to a tunnel. "Oh… uh… never mind then." Gnarl muttered to himself while scratching behind one of his long pointed ears and Giblet grinned despite himself. "Wipe that smug look off yer face before I beat it off of you instead Giblet!" Gnarl ordered while moving and taking hold of the blond youth's shoulders before pulling him towards the tunnel, Giblet helping the aged Minion out.

"So he really the new master?" Giblet questioned of Gnarl and the ancient minion grinned darkly while looking down at the blond.

"Yes Giblet, I saw it in his eyes. The same glow and the same power that our first master had… ahh, it's been so long since I've seen a fresh new Overlord just waiting to be molded into a true bastion of evil." Gnarl mused to himself while Giblet ignored the elder minion as he became lost in memories of the past Overlords and their achievements in the fight against the forces of light and good.

"Gnarl, we need hurry remember!" Giblet shouted at the aged Minion and he blinked before nodding his head with a deep scowl.

"Yes of course. Blast that damn Hero, I swear, ever since he returned from the Infernal Abyss he's been nothing but a thorn in our collective sides!" Gnarl grumbled out while they soon came to a wooden door and Gnarl kicked it down. "Wait here Giblet." Gnarl then ordered and the younger minion nodded his head silently while Gnarl walked to the doorway. Hopping out, Gnarl then landed in a room, the room was carved out of the rock and dirt around them and given the look of some kind of throne room, however, given the fact moss and mushrooms were growing everywhere, as well as the leaking ceiling among other things, it was obviously not a throne room anyone would want.

"Jester! Get your lazy carcass down here this instant!" Gnarl shouted and a stumbling sound echoed as another minion climbed up a flight of stairs and made his way over to Gnarl before saluting.

"Y-yes Gnarl, what is it?" He questioned and Gnarl hummed before leading him over to, then positioning him under the doorway from before. Smirking as he backed up, Gnarl saw Giblet snicker and mentally chuckled as well.

"Alright Giblet, let him down!" Gnarl ordered and Giblet pushed the blond out of the doorway causing him to land on top of Jester to break his fall. Groaning as he crawled out from under the young blond, Jester then stood and leaned into a wall while Giblet hopped down as well.

"What now Gnarl?" Giblet questioned and Gnarl reached up and stroked his goatee for a moment before walking over to the youth and started to check his injuries. Unzipping and then throwing the orange jacket off of the youth as he did so, revealing a black short sleeved shit beneath it. Nearby Giblet caught the orange / blue coat and looked at it strangely for a moment while Gnarl checked on the blond haired youths most visible wounds and frowned deeply.

"Jester, go fetch some healing supplies, the new Master was attacked by that damnable Betrayer. I'll need all the supplies you can find if I'm to dress the master's wounds. And don't slack off, this is a matter of preserving the Original Master's Bloodline!" Gnarl ordered and the Jester saluted before scurrying off as Gnarl then opened one of the blond boys eyes. Groaning he opened both and Gnarl mentally grinned upon seeing the blue glow that inhabited them. "Ah, its so nice to meet you master. I am Gnarl, Minion Master and devoted servant to Darkness, Sire." Gnarl offered with a curt bow and then looked around before shaking his head.

"First of all I'd like to welcome you to The Underworld, Sire, your new home." Gnarl offered and then grimaced as he looked around the place for a very brief moment. "Although do excuse the state of your new abode sire, but when we lost the use of The Netherworld, we had to find someplace more safe than it was luxurious…" Gnarl apologized while the blond clearly looked at him in confusion, the look ignored by Gnarl as he looked around with a pondering expression. "Though I'm sure with a little work we'll managed to whip this place into a suitable hall of evil." Gnarl mused while looking over the blond haired boy's wounded eye, then grimaced as he found the twisted leg and started to drum his fingers along the ground.

"Where is Jester with those damn supplies already? I swear by all that is dark and sinister, if he doesn't get here soon, I'll have him dipped and boiled in hot oil!" Gnarl growled out and Naruto felt his eyes widen at the casual threat before looking around him with his good eye.

He saw the mess of the place, however his eye then fell onto a creature as it started to march around, then yawned and lazily laid on the ground. It looked like it was a off Yellow-Brown color, with a brown tattered loincloth, long pointed/slanted ears with large glowing yellow eyes, clawed four fingered hands and three toed feet with spikes poking off its ankles, a small wiry muscled body with its spine/ribs visible even under its skin and thick scales on its elbows and knees, small spikes at the backs of its jaws, its nose was more like a pigs snout, and last it had sharp fangs completely filling its large mouth while a long tongue stuck out of it at one side as it relaxed.

Looking back to the only other creature around, he saw an off gray colored creature of obvious age, having wrinkles and worn skin, with white bushy eyebrows and white hair on its jaw, a long white Goatee hanging from it's chin, however oddly it looked identical to the first besides that, with two long tattered pointed/slanted ears with three golden earrings in the left one, this one only had it's left eye remaining unlike the other and it was visibly a duller yellow, and he wore more clothes, a red cloth was draped at the front of his body with a dark cloak around his shoulders with long slits for his arms, leather armor was formed over his shoulders with thin bone's twisted into a collar around his neck and back while a twisted bamboo lantern hung down over his head for light of some small amount, last he has wrappings over his forearms and what looked like a loincloth beneath all of that.

Wondering what was going on, he tried to get up only to cry out in pain and fall back down, Gnarl quickly turning to him. "Please master, do not attempt to move for now, I haven't even finished checking your injuries and wouldn't want to make any of them worse than they already are." Gnarl warned calmly before sighing and shaking his head while looking at the boy.

He was an average, albeit slightly scrawny, twelve year old lad, with tanned skin and three thin whisker shaped scars on each cheek, his eyes were a bright azure blue and held a visible glow about them, and his hair was a spiky mess of blond locks. He was dressed in a orange Jumpsuit, though Gnarl had rid him of the jacket, and was currently in a pair of blue Shinobi Sandals, orange calf length pants, a black short sleeved shirt, and a pair of broken green goggles over his forehead.

"If we only had the Blues or the Tower Heart we wouldn't be going through this trouble sire, you'd be fixed up in no time, but alas, we lost both of them many years ago." Gnarl said with a shake of his head and Jester suddenly hopped out of a room, the blond instantly noting he was identical to the first brown creature, only he was a grey color and had a jesters cap, a studded belt, brown fur over his shoulders, and skull rattle with him. Running towards them, "Jester" quickly stopped and waved his rattle in the air, grinning down at the boy widely.

"Welcome new master!" He exclaimed and Gnarl palmed his face before glaring at Jester angrily.

"Dammit Jester!" He growled out and the Minion chuckled nervously while turning to him. "Did you bring the supplies or not?" Gnarl demanded and Jester grinned while producing an old burlap sack that Gnarl snatched away from him. Making his way back to the youth, Gnarl noticed Jester move to his legs and then widen his eyes visibly.

"The master, his leg has been broken!" He cried and Gnarl grimaced before thinking for a few moments. Looking to the wooden door he'd knocked down, Gnarl then narrowed his eyes before nodding his head. Turning to Giblet, Gnarl whistled and he turned his attention to the aging Minion Master.

"Giblet, break that door into planks so we can make a splint for the Master's leg!" Gnarl ordered and Giblet saluted before running over to the door and started to tear it apart while Jester had moved from the boy's leg up to his arms and chest.

"We needs another splint gnarl, his arm is broken too! Same with some ribs!" Jester said quickly and Gnarl growled furiously for a moment before shouting at Giblet to hurry up. The said minion soon finished what he was doing and carried over several pieces of wood to Gnarl.

"Hold him down Giblet, we don't want him hurting himself when we do this." Gnarl then ordered and Giblet nodded his head before moving to hold what he could down. Looking down to the youth apologetically once Giblet was ready, Gnarl then sighed for a moment.

"Please excuse me for what I'm about to do sire. I would really rather not cause you pain but it is necessary in this instance." Gnarl said before reached down to set the blond boy's arm back into place while Jester did the same for his leg. Instantly the youth screamed out in pain before a hacking cough tore through his throat and he grimaced. Once that was done, Gnarl quickly made a splint for the boy's arm while Jester made one for his leg. Finished with that, and with both limbs set into place, Gnarl began to dress the other burns, cuts, and lacerations on the youth. Meanwhile Jester went back to checking for more subtle injuries, upon coming to his neck however, his widened his eyes.

"Gnarl! I think the master's neck has been broken!" He shouted quickly and Gnarl cursed loudly before grabbing Giblet.

"Go find something to hold the Master's neck in place, a gorget if you can find one would be perfect. Now go and be quick about it!" Gnarl shouted and Giblet quickly nodded his head while rushing off as Gnarl started to rub his face with a deep frown. _'Dammit, the amount of injuries is insane, only his bloodline is keeping him alive at this point… we need a regeneration potion if he's to survive the night.'_ Gnarl thought to himself before an idea came to mind and he turned to look at Jester.

"How did you know how to check for broken bones?" He questioned flatly and Jester scratched his head for a few moments.

"Oh well, you know how it is. I've been fixing meself up for so long it's kind of like second nature to me now." Jester admitted with a nervous grin and Gnarl hummed in thought for a few brief moments.

"Jester, do you think you could make a Regeneration Potion if it was needed?" Gnarl asked casually and Jester scratched his head under his hat for a brief moment.

"Well… I suppose so… I mean, I've made one or two before when I was really banged up." Jester admitted and Gnarl grabbed him and then looked him in the eyes for a moment, a serious expression across his aged features.

"And do you think you can make one now?" Gnarl questioned and Jester was silent for a moment, clearly contemplating his answer.

"Well… yes, I'd just have to get some ingredients but…" He started to say and Gnarl nodded his head for a few moments.

"Good. Then go make one so The Master can heal faster! And be quick about it!" Gnarl shouted and Jester rushed off while Gnarl turned back to the blond, Giblet heading back in before running over to Gnarl.

"I's finded a leather Gorget for you Gnarl!" Giblet said and Gnarl snatched the object from Giblet's hands before waddling over to the blond boy. Gnarl then turned and gave a look to the brown minion, and Giblet instantly made to hold Naruto's legs and one arm down with his body. Nodding his head and apologizing to the youth in advance, Gnarl then started to wrap the Gorget around his neck, causing him to cry out and thrash about, Giblet gritting his teeth as he held him down while trying desperately not to hurt the blond haired boy in the process. Breathing a sigh of relief once he was finished, Gnarl then looked down to see the blond haired boy groan with his eyes only half open.

"Alright, The Jester should return soon enough, for the moment we should get the Master onto his throne so he can rest." Gnarl ordered and both he and Giblet picked up the boy before carrying him over to and then placed him onto an old stone throne in the room. Groaning as he was sat down in the throne, the blond haired boy watched as Gnarl stroked his goatee for a moment then hobbled over to Giblet.

"Now Giblet, I need you to find those old artifacts I had you hide. The mask, gauntlet, and bracelets are priority however. If you can't find the rest, that's fine for the moment. Is that understood Giblet?" Gnarl questioned and Giblet nodded his head only once before rushing off while Gnarl smirked to himself before making his way over to the blond. Hopping onto one of the armrests to the throne, he then sat down and looked at the blond boy for a moment. Seeing the questions practically spinning in the blond haired youth's eyes, Gnarl stroked his goatee while resting on the armrest.

"Clearly you have many questions master, but I must humbly request that you not try to over exert yourself at the moment and at least try and rest." Gnarl requested and the boy was in no real position or hurry to argue with the creature. Honestly, he was fairly tired anyways, he felt like he might pass out at any moment so sleep would be nice… "However, I must ask you something first, sire. And I apologize for not doing so sooner, but what is your name?" Gnarl questioned and the blond haired boy started to move his mouth before finally managing to croak out an answer.

"Uz… Uzuma… Uzumaki… N… Naru… Naruto…" Naruto managed to get out and then grimaced in pain while Gnarl rubbed his chin for a moment. Thinking over what he knew of the current language system in the lands, Gnarl then smirked when he realized what it was his master's name meant.

"A Swirling Maelstrom then?" Gnarl noted and then grinned to himself as Naruto slowly closed his eyes while looking at him. "Ah yes, that is a perfect name sire, I do think its much better than some that the prior Overlords got stuck with." Gnarl mused and the word Overlord stuck in Naruto's mind for some reason, making him wonder what this little creature was, not for the first time, and why it was helping him.

However, before he could question "Gnarl" on the reasoning behind talking about "Passed Overlords", the blond felt his eyes grow heavy and soon fell asleep entirely, falling into a blissful, dreamless slumber while Gnarl guarded the young Overlord…

(Konoha…)

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage stood with a team of AnBu at an old abandoned building at the westernmost edge of Konoha. The area was unfortunately closest to the Forest of Death, thus the amount of occupants in the area was very light. It was for this reason that the fire that broke out the night before had gone without notice for several hours before an AnBu Team had finally arrived. However, that was not why the elderly Hokage was standing before the smoldering ashes of all that was now left of the building.

No. His reason for being there was due to the bloodstains that had lead towards the building from one adjacent to it. Kneeling down and looking from the blood to the building it came from, Sarutobi sighed. The AnBu weren't equipped to deal with fires, water users wouldn't have been able to do much without a source of water so the fire had consumed the building entirely. However, they had managed to protect the buildings surrounding it, thus preventing a larger blaze from spreading. But, upon finding the Bloodstain an old fear had grown in Sarutobi, not for himself, but for someone whom he had grown to care for greatly over the years.

"Kakashi, where are those test results on this blood?" Sarutobi demanded while turning to look at the Jounin, who amazingly enough wasn't reading his little orange book for once in his life.

"It takes time to analyze something like that, Hokage-Sama. But we should have the results soon enough. Just be a little more patient. I'm sure everything is alright." Kakashi replied and Sarutobi frowned while puffing on his pipe, eyes set in a stern frown before turning to the building.

"What started the fire?" The aged Hokage questioned while looking to the ashes and brick that remained of the old building, glad that at least no life was lost… well… that wasn't confirmed yet but he knew the building was abandoned, and hoped that his fears were unfounded.

"We're not sure, but small traces of Chakra were found in the area suggesting a Jutsu was used. But given the amount of Fire-Element Ninja in the village that doesn't help us any. Plus the amount of Chakra was barely enough to power a small explosive note, let alone start a fire." Kakashi replied with a frown while the AnBu searched the rubble of the building, looking for anything from a survivor's remains to clues to help find the culprit who'd set the building ablaze.

"What about Naruto. What was found at his apartment?" Sarutobi demanded and Kakashi winced under his mask, remaining silent. He honestly didn't want to tell him what was found, the old man was notably soft when it came to Naruto, too much so in many peoples opinions, but regardless, Kakashi truly did not want to know how the aged Sandaime would react to what was found. "Kakashi." The Sandaime growled out while turning to the one-eyed man and Kakashi gulped upon seeing his glare.

"Uh… yes Hokage-Sama?" Kakashi asked with a mental gulp and the Sandaime narrowed his eyes onto him dangerously.

"What was found at Naruto-Kun's apartment?" The old man demanded and Kakashi was silent before relenting as the Sandaime's glare increased.

"We found signs of forced entry and a struggle, a broken window and what looks like signs of fire Jutsu being used nearby." Kakashi admitted and then winced when he saw the Sandaime clinch his fists, his jaw set into a stern frown.

"And what about his Neighbors. Surely someone would've heard the ruckus being made from something like that." The Sandaime growled out and Kakashi reached up and rubbed the back of his neck, sweating lightly under the Sandaime's glare.

"Well… some of his neighbors never really saw Naruto in a favorable light so it seems they ignored the noises. While the other's believed he'd hurt himself preparing for or even setting up a prank and thought better of getting involved with it. Given Naruto's track record you can't blame the latter of them Hokage-Sama." Kakashi explained then noted and the aged Sandaime snorted derisively before puffing on his pipe and mulling over what that told him.

"Sir!" An AnBu cried while appearing next to Kakashi and held up a folder.

"Ah, those test results are finally in Hokage-Sama." Kakashi stated and the old man walked over to the Jounin as he took the folder from the AnBu who quickly shunshined away, greatly worrying Kakashi as it silently told him that whatever results the test had given were not good.

"Well, open it." Sarutobi ordered and Kakashi slowly nodded his head before opening the folder and read the test results before widening his single eye. "What do the results say? Whose blood did that belong too Kakashi?" The Sandaime demanded and Kakashi looked to the Sandaime numbly for a moment.

"Uzumaki Naruto…" Kakashi whispered and then watched as a stunned look crossed the Sandaime's face before he closed his eyes and let out a tired sigh. Turning back to the building for a moment, the old man then clenched his fists.

"Too long." He said darkly and Kakashi blinked.

"What?" The silver haired Jounin questioned and Sarutobi turned to him with a deep scowl on his face.

"Too long. I've allowed the civilians and even the Shinobi of my village too much leniency for far too long." Sarutobi replied and then turned back to the ashes of the building, the stern look on his face growing grimmer. "If the Shodaime or Nidaime could see this, they would weep. A child murdered, possibly burnt alive, just before the final exams at the Shinobi Academy." Sarutobi stated darkly while Kakashi shook his head and then looked at the report one last time.

"Hokage-Sama, it's still debatable whether or not he's dead. He could still be alive and merely…" Kakashi started to say before hearing a cry from the AnBu. Looking to the Hokage, he ran over, the Sandaime following at a sedated pace behind the Copy-Nin. Coming to the AnBu, Kakashi looked at him and he bowed his head.

"We did some scans for more traces of blood and… well…" The man left off and Kakashi visibly grimaced before sighing as the Sandaime narrowed his eyes.

"As you were saying Kakashi?" Sarutobi grumbled and the man was silent while the aged Hokage looked to the AnBu. "Have you found any sign of the culprit who did this?" He demanded and the AnBu was silent before nodding, walking over to some rubble he moved a large wooden plank and pulled out of the ashes what looked like a metallic gauntlet of some kind.

"Someone with armor did this… but also this gauntlet is completely saturated in a strange kind of Chakra Hokage-Sama. But, its… off, it almost feels like the Kyuubi did… only more vile if that's even possible." The AnBu reported and Kakashi shivered visibly, wondering what could be viler than a demon while Sarutobi walked over and took the gauntlet. Looking it over for a few moments, he then stopped and narrowed his eyes, using his robes he wiped away some soot and ash and widened his eyes upon seeing an inscription inside it.

"_**Forged in honor of our great and powerful Master, The Overlord, Tyrant of the higher Lands of Man, Conqueror of the Dwarven Homeland, Destroyer of the Elven Forest, King of the Infernal Abyss, and ruler of all demon kind, may his enemies tremble in terror at his visage and power."**_ The inscription read and Sarutobi shook his head, while the words were ominous enough, the fact they were written in an ancient, near forgotten dialect shocked him more. _'Overlord? Ruler of Demon Kind? What is this? Just who attacked you Naruto?'_ Sarutobi wondered to himself while looking at the metal glove and then felt Kakashi's hand on his shoulder.

"Hokage-Sama, is everything alright?" Kakashi questioned and Sarutobi was silent for a moment before shaking his head slowly.

"No Kakashi… I fear that something horrible is coming… something worse than even the Kyuubi." The Sandaime replied, not knowing just how true his words really were while the one eyed Jounin and AnBu both stared at their Hokage, clearly confused by what he meant…

(The Underworld…)

Gnarl sat on the throne with a frown before looking down as both Giblet and Jester rushed back into the room. Giblet covered from head to toe in dirt grime and filth with an old burlap sack over his shoulder. Jester however was much cleaner and in his hands was a glowing red potion of some kind. Both minions slid to a halt before Gnarl at the same time, both panting before holding up their hands to present the requested items to the aged Minion Master. Hopping off of the throne, Gnarl stroked his Goatee while examining the regeneration potion.

"Looky looky Gnarl! I made it just like I said! See! It's even red like it's supposed to be!" Jester said loudly, grinning widely and Gnarl reached out and slapped the back of his head with a snarl across his face.

"Fool! Do you want to wake the master?" Gnarl hissed at the Jester and he slowly shook his head while Gnarl looked at the bottle of potion for a few moments, frowning deeply as he did. "This had better not be acidic Jester… for your sake that is." Gnarl hissed out lowly and Jester shook his head and gulped while Gnarl then looked back to the potion. Frowning despite himself, Gnarl then opened the vial and turned it over, watching as a small drop of the liquid hit the ground. No fizzling or any kind of damage occurred so he hummed while putting the stopper back into place.

Putting the vial under one arm, Gnarl then looked inside the sack Giblet brought. He noted all the requested items he'd wanted as well as a few extra and nodded his head once more. Nodding his head and grinning slightly, Gnarl turned on one heel and hopped back up onto the throne. Looking to their new master, Gnarl placed the items down carefully and reached out for Naruto. Shaking him lightly, Gnarl snickered when he saw Naruto try to turn away from him. "Master, master wake up master!" Gnarl said lightly while still shaking the boy and Jester grinned while taking a deep breath.

"WAKE UP MASTER!" He screamed at the top of his lungs and Naruto's eyes bolted open, only Gnarl keeping him from moving as he held him down. Turning to glare at Jester for only a moment, Gnarl then turned back to Naruto himself and grinned.

"Good evening Master. We are happy to see you've survived this long. Now, we need you to drink this, it should heal you almost instantly!" Gnarl said and then stopped and thought about it for a few moments. "Of course if Jester got it wrong and it doesn't heal you, we'll just beat him for it and wait for you to heal naturally." Gnarl admitted with a shrug and Naruto's eyes widened and Jester crossed his fingers while Giblet started to crack his knuckle.

Reaching out, Gnarl opened Naruto's mouth while his head leaned back slightly. Reaching for the vial, Gnarl pulled the cork from it with his fangs before spitting it over to the side. Placing the tip of the vial to Naruto's lips, Gnarl then poured the potion into his mouth and Naruto forcibly swallowed the stuff, grimacing at the horrible taste even as the warmth of it seemed to soothe his throat. Once he'd swallowed it all, Gnarl tossed the vial at Jester who caught it at the last second, then shouted about it being his ONLY vial, as Gnarl hopped off of the throne to watch Naruto as the potion took affect on him.

As they all took several steps back, Naruto felt a strange warmth flow from his stomach outwards. The warmth soothed all his aches and pains away like magic, and soon enough steam started to flow from his open wounds. The bandages slowly fell away, leaving his skin open only to slowly seal itself shut while Gnarl looked on in surprise. "Well it seems your not completely incompetent Jester." Gnarl noted while Naruto leaned back in his throne and then closed his eyes, still very clearly exhausted as he soon fell back into a blissful slumber.

"D-Does this mean that I don't have ta be Jester no more?" Jester asked hopefully and Gnarl looked at him for a moment and then stroked his Goatee as he considered it.

"Yes. You no longer have to be Jester, Jes… er… how about we call you Doc from now on. The Master could use a head physician and I think you fit the bill quite well now don't you." Gnarl offered and Jester rapidly started to nod his head before reaching up, throwing off his hat and then started to stomp it into the dirt while Giblet pouted.

"Aww, then who we beat up now?" Giblet whined pitifully and Gnarl rolled his eye before grinning towards the brown.

"Oh don't worry Giblet, just as soon as the Master is ready and able, we'll all head out and find the Brown Hive and Tower Heart. And then we'll go fetch the Grey hive and summon up a new Jester to beat on." Gnarl offered with an evil smile across his lips and Giblet whooped in joy while "Doc" started to dance around then happily pissed on the Jester equipment he'd been cursed with for so long…

"Should we clean those Gnarl?" Giblet asked and Gnarl merely grinned for a moment before turning to Giblet.

"No, no… lets leave that to they're soon to be new owner the next Jester." Gnarl replied and both Minions snickered evilly, their yellow eyes glowing brightly as they did so…

(?)

_It is wintertime in the village of Konohagakure no Sato, and currently, not a single soul is stirring. The crisp night air is invigorating, the gentle fall of snowflakes mesmerizing and the beautiful full moon had many watching from their homes… all but one that is. A Familiar blond haired child leans back against a wall, his eyes are slightly closed with a trickle of blood flowing from a shallow cut on the side of his forehead. _'Stupid drunk… why did he have to throw a Sake bottle at me?' _The boy wondered before wiping away the blood and wrapped his arms around his legs and shivered._

_A seven year old, Uzumaki Naruto sat in an alley, the cold snow half covering him while he shook some off after a short while of letting it pile upon his head of spiky blond hair. He has just recently been kicked out of the local orphanage, and though he wasn't sure why, he did know that the "Old-Man" Sarutobi Hiruzen was already looking for an apartment for him. However such a search took time, and unfortunately, young Naruto wanted to be alone, thus why he was freezing in the cold when he should have been staying with the said old man, or even possibly staying with the kindly Ichiraku Ramen chef and his daughter._

_Shivering lightly, Naruto leaned his head forward, forehead to his knees while pulling his legs closer to his torso. 'What did I ever do to deserve this? Is it because of my pranks? Or is it because of something else?' He wondered to himself before shivering once more, snow falling gently onto his form and blanketing him in white until he shook his body to rid himself of it. Closing his eyes, the blond haired child tried not to think of the cold, and instead tried to warm himself up with thoughts of what it might be like to have a family… However he then blinked as he felt someone suddenly pick him up and he opened his eyes to look up towards whomever had._

_His eyes widened slightly at what he saw, it was a woman, and one whom he was sure could never be mistaken for someone else. Her eyes had an odd crimson glow, somewhat faded marks trailing down from them like ebony tears, her skin was oddly blue in color, her long eyebrows arched from her brow and out passed a scarlet hood she was wearing, her long pale blond hair spilling out over her shoulders and down towards her chest, and her long pointed ears poking from the sides of the hood. Looking to her hands, Naruto could just make out strange claws attached to her gauntlets…_

"_Who…?" Naruto started to ask as he was carried into the night only for the woman look at him and shake her head._

"_Be silent and rest now, little one. I mean you no harm." She whispered and for reasons even he couldn't truly comprehend, Naruto believed her. Leaning into her as she carried him away, the blond haired child closed his eyes and fell asleep. He never noticed that the woman didn't have any kind of heartbeat, or that her own skin and body were just as cold as the snow around them…_

(The Underworld…)

Naruto slowly found himself waking up yet again; his eyes opened and then closed in discomfort as soon as they did. Opening them slowly once more, the blond felt them widen upon finding himself in what appeared to be a cave with a few torches placed here and there for light. Nearly panicking, the blond then remembered what had happened the night before and noticed two of the creatures that had saved him sleeping on the floor. Groaning, Naruto slowly tried to stand before stopping as a hand was placed onto his shoulder. Blinking, the blond sat back down on the stone, shoddily made, throne and turned to see Gnarl resting on the armrest.

"I wouldn't get up yet Sire. I'm sure you have a great many questions and before you get up and we start our rounds and possibly even a tour about the Underworld I feel I should answer them for you." Gnarl stated and Naruto raised a brow before groaning slightly as he felt his head throb.

"Where…" He started and Gnarl understood what he wanted to know instantly.

"We are currently within the "Underworld" sometimes known as the "Under-Dark" or even the "Dark-Sanctuary" as it later came to be known. The original variation of the Dark Elves created it when they were first banished underground by their High Elvin Cousins. But later on, more Dark Races from our specific lands escaped here when Humanity, Dwarves, Elves, Gnomes, Halflings, and a plethora of other similar breeds started to fight and attack them in mass. We are here because we could think of no better place to hide from our enemies while awaiting the rise of the next Overlord." Gnarl explained while Naruto blinked and then looked at the two other creatures, now sure he was nowhere near Konoha.

"What…" He started and yet again Gnarl instantly knew what he wanted.

"We, or rather our entire race, excluding you of course sire, are known simply as, or at least we are called, Minions milord. We are your servants and warriors, created by the Black Barron many centuries ago. We were designed to handle most menial tasks for the Overlord, some like Giblet are forgery experts, and some like Doc are experts in medicine. This is because like me, they are Primary Minions, which are essentially the minions with a will of their own, rather than just drawing on yours. Me however, I am the Minion Master, I'm an advisor to The Overlord. And I'm able to control minions just as you are sire, only to a significantly lesser extent. For all intents and purposes milord, we are quite possibly the closest things to a family you have left." Gnarl explained and Naruto was silent for a few moments as that thought swirled around in his mind.

They were… family? They had been with his entire family since this "Black Barron" guy had lived… they could tell him about his family. They could actually show him his heritage! They could give him what he'd always wanted; to know whom his family really was, to not be alone! As the thoughts swirled in his mind, Naruto had to force himself to calm down and think rationally, not something he normally did, but given the numerous admissions to an association to and with evil from Gnarl, he couldn't help but feel that caution was necessary around the Minion Master.

"Family… who…?" Naruto managed to groan out and wondered why his throat hurt so bad while Gnarl sighed as he looked to the ceiling, seemingly lost in memories.

"Yes… Family sire. I remember them all so very well. However, rather than go into great detail about your entire and admittedly very _**very**_ extended family, I feel I must shorten it down to those few who are most important in your family, those who truly live up to their ancestry or even those who started it. Thus, the first of your great family was known as The Black Barron, the brother to a man named William Black, the first of the "Archons" of Albion, and also a brother to the eventual Lord of Castle Gromgard." Gnarl explained and Naruto's eyes widened slightly at just that little tidbit of info… He was descended from Royalty! What the hell had happened to them then?

"Your ancestor, The Black Barron, was an amazingly powerful mystic sire, admittedly however his younger brother William was far superior to him in the more combat oriented feild. However, both were born to a humble blacksmith and his wife. And while his younger brother dreamed of being a gallant knight and hero… The Black Barron wished only to forge and create things, just like his father did. So, when their parents died, The Black Barron, as he would eventually become known, traveled the world in search of ways to create armor and weapons unlike anything ever seen before. At the same time his Brother William astounded people with his abilities, known to most of them as "Will" known to more as "Mana" or even more simply as "Magic"." Gnarl explained with a wave of his hand and Naruto slowly nodded his head as the Minion Master continued his story.

"And for a while this was fine with The Black Barron, he even made special powerful armor and weapons just for his brother to use. But, upon finding that he too had the same abilities as his brother, Willaim, The Black Barron feared that they would come to fight over it. He did not wish to do his brother harm so he decided to leave the lands of Albion to him and those of his "Archon" Bloodline. Thus, after forging new armor and weapons for himself and taking the title of Knight, the Barron left with his younger brother as his squire, eventually coming to these very lands many centuries ago. Here, he settled and started work on his new home." Gnarl explained with a smile on his face before leaning back and sighing, lost in his memories.

"The Black Barron eventually created a grand castle, and when he did, he took the name "Barron", and since his surname was "Black" he would be known as The Black Barron. As a Barron, he used his influence to gather the surrounding villages under his rule, before then obtaining many beasts and creatures so that he might experiment further with creation. He'd found forging objects and building a castle to be too easy and wished to create more. As time went by it grew into an obsession for him, using his powers, The Black Barron created an entire kingdom and gave his subjects riches beyond their wildest dreams, though he tended to keep them all in line through force, he protected them even more viciously." Gnarl explained and then smiled ever so slightly as the memories made him feel as if he were a young Minion again…

"He eventually, after years of time consuming research into the raw powers of Magic, forged mystical armor and weapons, a jewel that allowed him to harness the very forces of life itself, a helm that would project his thoughts and allow him to hear others, and then he even created the Minions as you know us, as well as an object he called the Castle Heart, later known as the Tower Heart, that could send him anywhere he wanted and linked all of his other creations together, binding them all to his will and power!" Gnarl explained further and Naruto's eyes widened in shock, wondering how his ancestor could build and create so much on his own and in one lifetime. Before he was answered he saw a notably pained look cross Gnarl's features as the old minion remembered what became of his first master, and his creator…

"Sadly, our master was very old by this time. Having dedicated his entire life to building and creating things of such wonder that no one else could possibly imagine them… in doing so, he forget to build a family of his own. In the end, he watched his younger Brother's family, watching each of them before finally deciding on an heir among them. He told only me, and gave me the order that on his sixteenth birthday, that he would gain all that our master had built. But… his family feared him, thus locked all of his creations away, hoping to never see them ever again." Gnarl explained with a sigh as he looked to the ceiling and then shook his head for a moment.

"W-why?" Naruto managed to croak out, wondering why they would do that to family, why they would try to forget him?

"Because Sire, they feared The Black Barron. He had been a ruthless ruler but always protected his people. They feared his abilities in Magic to a greater extent due to the fact none of them could use it save for a group of beings known as Elves. Thus, they thought of him as a sorcerer, a practitioner of the dark arts, someone who conjured up his devices for the sole purpose of evil. And, while I admit that me and the other Minions do greatly enjoy evil, our master created us on a whim to serve him, not as inherently evil beings. Truthfully, we've just grown to like Evil more than Good, Sire." Gnarl explained and Naruto blinked then shook his head while the old Minion Master stroked his goatee.

"Anyways after the Elves, the Dwarves, and The Halflings ransacked the master's kingdom once he was gone, the Young Lord's father's wife left him for a rich noblemen in another kingdom, the old man left in search of riches and a new wife, and utterly failed in his first attempt, before going out yet again and leaving the kingdom to his children. Eventually however the day came that the Master's Heir reached his sixteenth birthday, and I sent him a gift. He was known as Lord Gromgard, his father having gone out in search of riches to help his land, leaving him with his horrid older Brother and Sister who wished he would die." Gnarl explained and Naruto started to wonder about his "Family" as it seemed the bulk of them hated one another to an extent that bordered on the insane.

"The Young Lord was alone at the time, his Brother felt he should have been born as an elf, and save for his ears he also looked the part I might add, thus left the lands to rot. Meanwhile his sister felt only dwarves were real men and went off with them, believe me when I say she fit in with them wonderfully, she resembled a female dwarf anyways, sans the beard of course. And soon only Lord Gromgard himself was there to protect the kingdom. On that day I sent him the Gauntlet of his uncle The Black Barron. When he obtained it, he eventually found the room where his family sealed his uncles creations away and opened it. He found we minions, the castle heart, and much more that he used to retake the lands." Gnarl explained and then chuckled darkly to himself with a wide grin across his aged features.

"He regained the loyalty of his people, decimated the traitorous Halflings as they tried to usurp control. Murdered the Wolf Queen who had been devouring children in a neighboring town, thus taking that town under his control as well. Stopped an annoying witch who had been forcing the teeth of children out so she could sell them to the Tooth Fairy. And then, then he defeated the Dwarf and Elf rulers and blamed it on the other, causing them to wage a long bloody war with each other, killing one another with numerous sharp pointy things for many generations afterwards, his siblings caught in the middle of it." Gnarl explained and yet Naruto actually snorted, all and all that sounded like a prank, getting back at his siblings for the hell they put him through.

"Of course after a long time of fighting in a pointless war, his siblings grew tired of it all and eventually returned to our kingdom, believing foolishly that one of them would be the new ruler… instead… they found our master. He was strong; he had grown tremendously in body, mind, and power since they had left. Thus, rather than becoming rulers, the two were forced into slavery, serving our lord as slaves for the rest of their days. As for his father, our lord felt no ill will towards the old man, and kept the kingdom safe and allowed him to continue to seek out a new wife." Gnarl explained and Naruto wasn't sure on whether or not that if it was good or bad really…

His siblings had abandoned the Kingdom, then only came back when they were tired, or more likely bored, with a war between the races they liked. They only came back for power, power they believed they had earned and that was their birthright. However, his ancestor hadn't just been born into the position, regardless of the way he did it, he'd earned his right to rule by defending his people and slaughtering those who would do them harm. In a way, it was a lot like what Naruto always thought a Hokage did things, protecting the villagers from evil villains and monsters…

"The Lord eventually moved out of Castle Gromgard and left it to his father. Creating a massive structure that he named the "Dark-Tower" with help from a man known as "The Engineer". The Tower was home to a great Many Overlords afterwards, sire, one of which saved the last of the Abyss Dragons, who had been on the brink of death herself. Thankful to The Overlord, the She-Dragon revealed herself to be a high dragon, one capable of transforming no less. She offered herself and her blood to the Overlord. He took her as one of his mistresses, and she eventually became first mistress, bearing him many powerful heirs." Gnarl explained and Naruto's eyes shot wide open… did that mean he was actually part lizard?

"The Blood of the Dragon from her, changed the Bloodline of the Overlord, making it different to the one of William Black in Albion. Thus, while they shared the same roots, they had become polar opposites in use. After her blood was added to the line of Overlords, they started to take on more dragonic features as time went by while Archons either turned into Angels or Demons depending on their mindset and actions." Gnarl continued and Naruto silently contemplated what was worse, turning into a lizard beast, or into a demon… actually a dragon wasn't so bad when compared to becoming a Demon… still freaky though…

"After him came a great many powerful Overlords, and of course a few "Over-Ladies", to your family, each one contributing to the family in one-way or another. One crafted objects known as "Spell Stones" so that future Overlords would always have access to Magic spells. Another crafted three smelters that could instantly forge anything that those of his family could ever possibly imagine. All of them built upon the empire, making it grow more and more vast, until finally it was destroyed by an elf that had wanted the power of the "Tower-Heart". Instead he caused it to explode and created a plague that nearly destroyed the lands, tainting them with a warped version of Magic." Gnarl explained in a bored monotone at the end and Naruto's eyes widened in shock.

"But your ancestor at the time, a woman named Rose, was a wise woman. She'd been ready for this, strangely enough as no one else was, and even though her child was exposed to the sludge, forever staining his skin, she took him away from it all… of course she just didn't want him turning out to be an evil Overlord like his father, but I digress." Gnarl continued before admitting with a flat annoyed look across his face while Naruto still wondered whether or not his "Family" was actually good or evil as regardless of how they did things, it was undeniable that they kept their own people safe from harm…

"When she took him away, she abandoned him in a place known as Nordberg, where people feared him greatly for his appearance. They called him "Witch-Boy" among other curses, and as the parents despised him, so too did their children." Gnarl explained and Naruto was silent, a plethora of emotions welling up inside of him as _**THAT**_ story started to sound very familiar. "Eventually when Nordberg was attacked by an invading army in search of magical beings, they threw him to them, allowing them to kill him so long as they were not harmed… only one, a girl named Kelda, who later became his First Mistress and thus also your ancestor, did not agree with this." Gnarl continued and Naruto felt that thus far every family member was tormented to the point of being evil… they weren't born that way…

"We found and assisted our master in escaping the invading forces of course, though there were admittedly many mistakes, attacks, and even an encounter with a yeti along the way… Ahem, anyways eventually he was frozen and we had to fish him out of a river. We used our dragon and unfroze him before introducing him to our home at the time, The Netherworld. Upon awakening and unfreezing, we began to raise him to a more proper evil upbringing." Gnarl continued once more before chuckling darkly, reminding Naruto that they were all indeed still "Evil" or perhaps just dark…

"Unlike those who came before him, our Master _**truly**_ lashed out at the world, dominating or destroying everything and bringing them under his thumb with brutal force and little restraint. Unlike his father, he was much more interested in women, thus took on three mistresses. And while not uncommon, it rarely happened in the past due to a factor of "Love" that some of our masters would feel for one woman in particular. Our master was the most fond of Kelda however, and took her as his first mistress above all others. He then laid waist to the empire, eventually being forced to destroy the Tower Heart once more to do so. And the lands were brought back under control by our lord." Gnarl explained with a grin and then grimaced as he rubbed his chin for a moment.

"Of course at the time, I was unfortunately affected by the loss of the Tower Heart to link me to his will. It caused me to plot a way to usurp power, but I believe that I was very lucky when the Tower Heart was repaired and I regained my senses… otherwise I'm certain the master would have utterly destroyed me for my betrayal. But then… then _**he**_ returned!" Gnarl admitted and then hissed out angrily while narrowing his single golden eye. "A man known only as "The Betrayer" whom had once been a "Stand In" overlord for a previous ancestor." Gnarl explained to the blond before crossing his arms over his chest with a deep frown on his face.

"I'll admit, I liked him at first, he brought a new flavor to evil during his rule. But in all honesty he was trapped in the Infernal Abyss and we needed a new Overlord, preferably of the true bloodline. Thus while his Mistress was pregnant, she was not of proper blood. Her sister Rose however, _**she**_ was pregnant with a True Overlords Child. She had been our Mistress before her sister, before even The Betrayer was our master. Her father was rather ironically known simply as The Wizard, who was also the mortal enemy of your ancestor. But rather than hate him, Rose loved him because she saw that he wanted only to bring order to the lands." Gnarl explained and Naruto once again wondered if his family was evil, or just dark… maybe misunderstood from this story.

"But as I was saying before, something we never truly expected happened. The Betrayer returned and expected to be The Overlord once more. Having taken control of The Infernal Abyss and its many Wraith and Demon armies he waged a long bloody war against us, and our master, for control of the power of The Overlord. The war had losses on both sides; The Betrayer had always been a deadly foe so it was no wonder that he continued to survive no matter what attempt on his life our master made. But eventually he came and killed your ancestor himself and destroyed the Netherworld while we made off with Mistress Kelda to protect her and her unborn child." Gnarl continued to explain before scraping his nails into the stone of the throne.

"The Mistress was… greatly distraught, to say the very least, when our master died. She wouldn't eat, sleep, or even bathe herself anymore, she lost her luster and the once proud huntress slowly began to wither away. She lost all will to do anything; even boiling Jester in Hot Oil didn't amuse her anymore… and thus she slowly drifted away from us. Then when she finally gave birth, her child was thankfully healthy due to the Dragon's Blood within him, but Mistress Kelda, did not survive." Gnarl explained and Naruto lowered his eyes, feeling sorry for his ancestor and his "wife" Kelda, and then frowned, wondering what happened next.

"After several failed attempts by lesser Overlords later, then came your grandmother, an Over-Lady as it were. She, unlike her predecessors, actually managed to retrieve a majority of the old tower objects and spells. She managed to, in secret, construct a new tower in the lands of Uzu-No-Kuni, and began a new reign, while disguising herself as an Uzumaki. She eventually bore a child, merely to have an heir, and when a request from Konoha came for someone to come, her heir was sent to keep her safe. Only a few weeks afterwards, using the countries of Iwa and Kumo as a scapegoat, The Betrayer attacked and destroyed all of Uzu-no-kuni." Gnarl continued to explain and then let out a tired sigh as he sat down and rubbed his aged features tiredly.

"The Betrayer then used our confusion to make off with several of the objects of your family heritage milord. And then he and his warriors scattered the rest of the objects to the four winds. Then many more years later, he found our Mistress's daughter living in Konoha, and with a group of heroes working alongside him, they murdered her in cold blood. And thus we were forced to wait for the next new Overlord to rise up yet again… That Overlord is to be _**you**_ my master." Gnarl finished and Naruto was silent for a few moments as his eyes widened and tears came to his eyes.

"My… mo…" He started to say and Gnarl nodded his head silently.

"Yes, sire… she was your mother sire. And after her death we brought her body here to the Underworld and buried her in a crypt along with her mother and the rest of your family we managed to recover over the years." Gnarl explained to the blond haired youth and he looked down, a numb feeling welling up within him.

"C-can I…" He started to ask before Gnarl responded, yet again knowing exactly what he wanted before even he did.

"Yes of course sire. If you wish to see the crypt I can take you down there myself." Gnarl offered with a slight bow and then helped pull Naruto up to his feet, the blond haired youth slowly steadying himself by placing a hand on the armrest of the throne he'd been sitting on. Helping the youth walk away from the throne with a hand on his shoulder, Gnarl led him over to an old tunnel. Making their way deep into the tunnel, they passed several twists and turns before coming to a long tunnel, one that would lead him to the crypt of his family… and the beginning of his new, much darker path in life…

(Konoha…)

Sarutobi Hiruzen marched into the council chambers with a deep scowl, clutching the metal gauntlet that had been found earlier in one hand. Narrowing his eyes, the old man walked forward and took a seat, placing the gauntlet on top of his desk and noticed Danzo instantly looked at it. "Why have you summoned us Hokage-Sama? We're not supposed to convene again for several weeks…" One of the Council noted and Sarutobi chewed on the end of his pipe with a deep scowl on his face.

"Last night, an unidentified individual not only broke into the village, but also assaulted and most likely killed one Uzumaki Naruto, without any AnBu showing up or anyone noticing before he caused a building to burn down… the only evidence he was even here is a metal gauntlet with an ancient dialect carved into it…" Sarutobi replied while motioning to the metal gauntlet he'd had with him and thus deeply scowled when he noticed that several of the civilians looked more than a little happy with that bit of information, however Danzo was actually scowling deeply.

"This is… troubling." Danzo stated aloud and drew the surprised looks of the Civilians onto himself. Grunting in his throat the old man then crossed his arm while leaning back in his seat. "If one man can infiltrate Konoha, kill a civilian, and burn down a building, all without anyone noticing before he was done… this means our security is dangerously lax. Imagine for instance, if this intruder wished to kidnap or kill one of the clan heirs… or even burn down the academy or library." Danzo explained while lacing his fingers together and the civilians instantly realized why this was a very bad thing.

"We need to increase security!" One suddenly shouted and Sarutobi grunted while reaching up to rub his temples.

"That isn't the real problem, the problem isn't that we have little security, but that our Ninja are very lax in temperament. Instead of having a hardened force of Shinobi able to handle any situation, we have Genin and Chunin who can't catch a single cat for hours, we have young Shinobi and Kunoichi who think they don't have to train to actually pass their exams, and what's even worse is that they actually can!" Sarutobi shouted furiously and the civilians backed up in their seats while the old Hokage growled lowly. "We've allowed the standards of our Shinobi to drop far too much, and I want to know why!" The old man demanded of the council and Hyuuga Hiashi decided he'd be one of the few brave enough, or maybe stupid enough, to do so.

"Hokage-Sama, I believe this occurred after the last war ended and the Kyuubi's attack. Due to the casualties of both, we were in a high need of more Shinobi for more missions to finance the repairs to the village, so much so that you authorized the drop in standards at the Academy so that we could produce more Shinobi. However you made it to where only nine could pass every year, while the council at the time suggested that the rest be retrained for other duties or could attempt to become Shinobi again." Hiashi replied carefully and the Hokage nodded his head before frowning deeply.

"Indeed, now then, can anyone tell me, why, after twelve years, we haven't raised the standards back up? We have more than enough Shinobi to send out on missions, we have too many for that matter, and too many who think they can do anything they want just because of the fact they passed the Shinobi exams!" Sarutobi growled out while glancing around the room and Danzo actually raised a brow. _'Is he finally going to fix the mess he's made out of the village?'_ The old man wondered to himself, as while he did wish to lead Konoha, he only really wanted to do so because of how far it had fallen, if it were in proper hands, he was sure they'd still be the top village.

"Well sir… it… I mean, it allowed many Civilian children to pass more easily, whereas before the Shinobi roster was packed with nothing but Clan Children." One of the civilian council responded and Sarutobi twitched slightly before growling.

"That's because you civilians never once encouraged them to take being a Shinobi Seriously!" He shouted furiously before leaning forward as several civilians flinched at the normally kindly old man's tone. "Do you know that the majority of casualties in the village are from Civilian graduates? Or even that the majority of them are dead before they even make Chunin? So please explain to me, esteemed council, how it is so many civilian Genin have constantly passed, only to end up as little more than cannon fodder?" Sarutobi demanded furiously and saw them all look nervous and surprised.

"Y-You can't expect us to control how children act Hokage-Sama…" One of the council tried and Sarutobi slammed a hand into his desk, the object nearly buckling under his surprising strength.

"While that is true, what I want to know is why the academy Psyche Evaluations have completely stopped? As I recall, those were necessary to make certain any student who lasted long enough to pass, was mentally prepared for the life of a Shinobi… so explain to me, why they suddenly stopped?" Sarutobi questioned and saw several nervous glances among the civilian council while several of the Shinobi blinked.

"Wait, hold up. Hokage-Sama's right, I haven't gotten an evaluation for Kiba and he's graduating this year." Inuzuka Tsume noted with a frown before glaring at several of the civilian council members. "And I know for a fact Kiba's ego needs to be taken down a few pegs before he becomes a Shinobi, otherwise he'll just get himself killed!" She growled out while several of the other Clans nodded, all of them noticing their children's faults but had thought they somehow managed to pass their evaluations.

"Well… it's just that…" One of the civilians tried to say before Danzo decided to explain what had happened.

"Actually, that occurred after the Uchiha Massacre, several members of this esteemed Council felt that overly stressing the students and Genin to be perfect would cause them to break mentally as Itachi did." Danzo replied though he, Sarutobi, and the elders all knew that wasn't exactly true… Itachi didn't break due to stress after all.

"Stressing the students, and preparing them for the very real possibility of dying on the field are two different things." Nara Shikaku stated while pinching the bridge of his nose with a frown. "The problem with our current standards is that they're learning only the basics of being a Shinobi, and the problem with the students themselves, is that they don't take being a Shinobi seriously until they've lost a teammate on a mission or nearly die. If we raise the standards and reintroduce the Psyche-Evaluations now we might be able to fix some problems, however the current graduating class would have to be held back, as would several others, to include additional training." Shikaku stated while drumming his fingers on the desk in front of him.

"But if we do that, Uchiha Sasuke will never pass the psyche evaluation! And we need the Uchiha too…" One of them started to say before Danzo scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Lineage and bloodlines have aided many Shinobi, this is admittedly true however very few are worth noting. Hatake Sakumo was a powerful Shinobi without either and was considered to match the Sannin at one time. Namikaze Minato was nothing but an orphan but he became Yondaime Hokage. Even Sarutobi-Dono isn't from a clan, and he also became the Sandaime Hokage. Neither Jiraiya nor Orochimaru of the Sannin are from clans but they are considered great. Out of the Sannin, only Tsunade was ever of a clan, and even then, she couldn't use any of her grandfathers abilities." Danzo retorted while inwardly admitting he did somewhat favor clans, but none of them had truly produced prodigious Ninja, as everyone in a clan had the same overall skills…

"But what about Uchiha Itachi! He was a genius who…" One of the civilians started to say only for Aburame Shibi to cut in.

"Went insane due to stress. And he rarely ever used his Bloodline in battle unless necessary." Shibi responded, shutting several of the civilian council up while Sarutobi chewed on the end of his pipe once more.

"We have also lost our Jinchuuriki, while Kumo, Iwa, and Kiri all have two Jinchuuriki. And even Suna Taki has one each. Now, thanks to our lack of security and lack of proper Shinobi, we've not only lost our own, but the son of the Yondaime no less!" Sarutobi barked furiously while glaring at a now fearful civilian council and several members of the clan council frowned deeply.

"Son of the Yondaime?" One Civilian questioned and all the clans looked at him like he was a complete idiot.

"How many other Ninja have hair that blond or eyes that blue?" Tsume demanded incredulously while rubbing her temples and saw several of the civilian council start to shift uncomfortably while Sarutobi scowled.

"Exactly, and if there are any spies in the village, we run the risk of them finding out we've lost our Jinchuuriki and that may also cause them to believe that we're weak enough for them to invade." Sarutobi growled out and Shikaku started to consider their options before frowning deeply.

"That… is bad… really bad. Our little "Peace" with the other Shinobi nations is tenuous at best. If they learn we lost the Kyuubi, we might have to worry about an invasion." Shikaku noted with a frown while the civilians seemed confused and even afraid at that tidbit of information.

"B-But what does it matter? We're allied to Suna, and Kiri's in the middle of a Civil war. And Taki, Kumo, and Iwa don't have any spies in Konoha!" A civilian reminded and Danzo couldn't help palming his face at the sheer stupidity of the civilian council. _'Just because we don't know of them doesn't mean they're not here…'_ He thought to himself while Sarutobi resisted the urge to groan loudly.

"Not that we know of, however given all the confusion during the last Shinobi World War, I wouldn't be surprised if Iwa slipped in a few spies. And the incident with Kumo and the Hyuuga would be a perfect time for them to have left a spy as well. As for the other nations, while we are allied to Suna they have been loosing missions to us thanks to their Daimyo, while Taki is currently Neutral and most likely won't bother us, Kiri is indeed in the middle of a civil war however I have heard it's starting to shift in favor of the rebels." Sarutobi responded and then leaned back in his seat.

"So what do you suggest we do, Hokage Sama?" Hiashi questioned of the Sandaime and the old man reached up and stroked his Goatee for a moment before narrowing his eyes.

"The information about Naruto's status as Jinchuuriki is safe, at least for the moment, allowing us at least that bit of protection. However I feel that we must still raise the standards at the academy regardless, just in case our enemies do learn of our loss of both the Yondaime's legacy, the last of the Uzumaki Clan, and the loss of the Kyuubi." Sarutobi replied and then pushed himself out of his seat and gave a look to several members of the council. "See to it that the standards are raised and that the evaluations take place." Sarutobi ordered while taking the gauntlet and then turned and walked out of the council chambers, allowing the esteemed council to break into chatter.

Scowling deeply the old man then marched up the length of the tower and entered into his office. Walking to his desk, the old man slumped down and placed a hand over his eyes. _'While I might've fixed some things… I'm too late to save others.'_ Sarutobi thought to himself while then looking to his paperwork with a frown. _'Something tells me I'll be dealing with more of you in the future.'_ The aging Sandaime thought to himself with a slight grimace before scowling deeply. _'But, it's a small price to pay, I'll make certain something like this never happens to any child, ever again…'_ The old Hokage decided to himself, the gauntlet of the Betrayer glowing a sinister red / black…

TBC…

AN: I wanted this chapter to more or less answer the questions of a few reviewers. But in case it isn't obvious Fable, Overlord, Dragon Age, The Forgotten Realms, Dungeon Siege, Oblivion, World of Warcraft, and Untold Legends, possibly a little from The Witcher as well, will also be worked into this story this time around, meaning you should expect to see races and even countries / lands from each of those fantasy series as well as the Elemental Nations. Also, "Haruno Ayane" the younger "Evil" sister of Sakura, and many of my other OC's, will still appear in this story, however the Timeline will be altered so that some of them will appear sooner rather than later.

Also, the reason I'm using the "Dark-Sanctuary" as a base is because one, a Reviewer suggested on in the original story and I liked the idea. Two, Castle Gromgard, the original home of the Overlord, was abandoned and probably destroyed, the Dark-Tower was destroyed in Overlord 2, and in this story The Betrayer managed to infiltrate the Netherworld Tower, meaning it isn't safe for them there. Thus I decided to make a new location for Naruto to rule from, he will still have a tower however, so don't worry about that…


	3. Legend of The Underworld

**Disclaimer**: I own anything within; this story is merely a way for me to alleviate boredom…

[Giblet: And we're back!

Gnarl: Giblet! What have I told you about speaking before the master?

Giblet: Uh… not too?

Gnarl: Exactly!

Lord Pain: Whatever, where's that new Jester, I'm bored…

Doc: Don't worry Sire; we still need to find some Life-Force before we can give you your new beat… er… I mean Jester.

Lord Pain: Shit… then I'm going to go kick someone else's ass until that happens.

Gnarl: Forgive me for not preparing you someone ahead of time, Sire. I'll try to be more prompt in the future.

Lord Pain: Whatever just start the damn fic.

Giblet: Yes Master!]

_**NU**_: _**Dark Lord**_ +

_**Chapter 2**_: _**Legend of The Underworld**_…

"Normal Speech"…

'_Normal Thoughts_'…

[Radio/Tower Heart In Use]…

"**Jutsu In Use**"…

"**Demon Speech**"…

'_**Demon Thoughts**_'…

"_**Inner Spirit Speech**_"…

(Underworld…)

Naruto walked beside of Gnarl, down twisting tunnels and through large dug out rooms of some sort. They would occasionally even pass what looked like gold or jewels as they went, causing the blond to temporarily gaze at them in awe. _'If I really own this place, does that mean all that is mine?'_ The blond haired youth wondered to himself before shaking his head and returning to the tiny-minion-master's side to continue making his way through the tunnels of the "Dark Sanctuary" as Gnarl had once called it. _'Weird name, I wonder why they call it that…?'_ The blond haired youth wondered to himself as they soon came to a final tunnel with a light at the end.

"At the end of this tunnel is the crypt, Sire." Gnarl announced and Naruto mutely nodded his head as they walked to the end of the tunnel, Naruto padding his way down with a hand on the wall next to him, the other on Gnarl's Shoulder. Coming to the doorway, Naruto stopped upon seeing several strange caskets around the room as well as a couple of torches for light, there were far more than three caskets, though he couldn't count exactly how many due to the dim lighting of the torches within the room before noticing Gnarl point towards a specific casket…

"Over there, Sire. And please don't look in the others, not all of them died as peacefully as your mother… sort of… or at least they're not as presentable in death as she is." He stated and Naruto removed his hand from Gnarl's shoulder and slowly walked over to the casket. Placing his hands onto it as he neared, he saw a beautiful casket of gold and silver in intricate patterns, an odd looking lock on it on one side and a glass window of some kind making up the top of it.

"Why…" Naruto started to ask and Gnarl instantly supplied an answer.

"The Casket is airtight milord, her body is near perfectly preserved as a result. The only mar in her features is the wounds she acquired in battle, most of which we were able to clean and conceal, and of course her broken neck, which has her head leaning slightly to the side as a result. At the time of her death, we felt it best to see her, the others who were still presentable enough in death have a similar casket, Sire." Gnarl explained and Naruto blinked before biting his lip as he pushed himself up and looked down into the glass on the top of the casket.

The woman was, in no small way, beautiful and somehow she reminded him of the girl he had long sought after in Konoha, Sakura, long blood colored red hair that was clipped to one side and pale near flawless skin being all that was visible to Naruto, but it was enough. She actually looked like she might've still been alive; the only telltale sign of her death being her lips and skin were slightly discolored. Placing a hand to the glass, Naruto leaned his head forward, resting his forehead against the glass…

'_I have a mother, but you will always be my Kaa-San, the one who gave birth to me and protected me when I was small… without you, I wouldn't be here, and without her, I'd still be alone…Kaa-san… I… I only wish I could have known you… __**but I can't… because of that man…**__'_ The blond haired youth thought to himself, ignoring the demonic growl his inner voice took on at thoughts of the betrayer. Gazing at the form of his mother a moment longer he then closed his eyes, a lone tear sliding down his cheek before landing on the glass of her casket. The Blond then shook, his tears continuing to fall before his eyes suddenly burst open, glowing a brilliant azure as he looked to his dead Mother's face…

Clenching his fists, the blond haired youth felt the sorrow in his heart slowly give way to an intensely burning hatred. He remembered the stories of his family, that they had not all been monsters, rather, that many were tormented and forced to be Evil in order to survive. They were his family, they were a part of him, and that man had not only killed them, but also taken what they had built for generations. _'I swear on my mothers grave and on my ancestors blood, that for all the horror he has unleashed upon us, __**I will make him suffer dearly!**__'_ Naruto thought to himself as his tears leaked down his cheeks, having somehow turned an odd turquoise blue…

"I promise you Kaa-san, and everyone else he's hurt… I will have vengeance for the horror that he's brought upon us all!" Naruto whispered to himself as he opened his now brightly glowing eyes and Gnarl uttered a light chuckle before grinning darkly.

"Vengeance Sire? Ooh that sounds like a most excellent plan! But, pray tell how do you plan to exact your vengeance… weak as you are and strong as your opponent is… he also has at least a thousand years of experience under his belt, a vast army of demons at the ready, innumerous weapons at his disposal, and powerful allies… whereas you…" Gnarl left off and Naruto nodded his head, currently speaking, that man, that "Betrayer" as Gnarl had called him, outgunned him in all aspects…

"How…" Naruto started to wonder and Gnarl chuckled once more drawing the blond haired youth's attention to him.

"In my experience Sire, you humans often say to fight fire with fire in these sorts of situations. Or… in this case, perhaps it would be better to say fight Evil _**with**_ Evil." Gnarl said with a grin, stroking his goatee while Naruto gave him a very confused look, wondering what the Minion-Master meant. "Basically Sire. As you are, you're not only physically unable to face The Betrayer… but Mentally and even Spiritually unable to as well. If you wish to face him one on one, it would be best for you to understand his power… and to understand a former Evil Overlord, it would also be best to become one yourself." Gnarl explained with a maniacal chuckle and Naruto was silent, and then started to look around at a few of the other caskets around the crypt.

"If your having trouble deciding sire, there are quite a few perks to being an Evil Overlord I assure you." Gnarl then added before clearing his throat and grinning towards the blond. "Number 10, Minions do all your Evil Biddings!" Gnarl said and Naruto blinked and nodded his head since that did sound kind of cool… "Number 9, you can meet cute cuddly animals…" Gnarl added and Naruto stared at the old Minion before he grinned wider. "Number 8, and kill them!" Gnarl added with a laugh and a slight ghost of a smile crossed Naruto's features, now that sounded more like Gnarl.

"Number 7, you can **enslave** or **kill** people!" Gnarl added with a nudge and Naruto thought for a moment before a smirk crossed his features as thoughts of a few people he'd _**really**_ like to enslave came to mind… "Number 6, you can **destroy** everything!" Gnarl added with a psychotic laugh and Naruto chuckled slightly, the old Minion-Master at least knew how to cheer him up… "Number 5, girls love bad guys." Gnarl added while waggling his eyebrows and Naruto blinked before blushing as a goofy smile crossed his face… he could live with that!

"Number 4, you get great souvenirs." Gnarl said before pulling out what looked like a crown from his robe and grinned while holding it towards Naruto, and then quickly put it back in his cloak. "Number 3, everyone is equal… under the heel of your boot!" Gnarl said with a laugh and Naruto snickered lightly, yes, the old Minion-Master really could give a good sales pitch for becoming an evil megalomaniacal Overlord! "Number 2, did I mention the minions?" Gnarl asked and full-blown laughter finally escaped Naruto's lips as he fell back slightly then looked up towards Gnarl as he then stroked his goatee… a dark expression across his features as he did…

"Number 1, no one ever remembers the good guys." Gnarl added with a grin and Naruto blinked before giving the Minion-Master a look, basically saying, "that's not completely true" without speaking. In his defense, the Old Minion-Master hadn't needed him to speak to know what he was thinking so he didn't think it would matter… "Oh, well once there was a Hero who single-handedly defeated a creature known as the Juubi? Have you ever heard of him?" Gnarl questioned and Naruto blinked before slowly shaking his head and sat up.

"Right, you see Master, while Heroes are revered and worshipped while they are alive, and perhaps, for a time after they die… all Heroes are eventually forgotten. Evil Overlords on the other hand, are never forgotten; there is always someone, somewhere, who will tell the tales of their evil, despicable, and deplorable ways! No one ever forgets a truly great villain, Sire. They will live on in infamy and history long after they pass on! So while people love a good hero, history adores a truly evil villain!" Gnarl explained and Naruto slowly nodded his head before sitting up, somewhat wondering why it seemed Gnarl knew what he wanted to say before he even said it. However, the blond then shook that thought off to concentrate on more important things…

'_Throughout history… my family has brought forth the most powerful Overlords this world has ever known… but none of them were born Evil. They became that way because of others. My oldest Ancestor was changed because of his siblings; he held no ill will to his father or subjects, only to them. My ancestor from Nordberg was treated like I am… hated and feared, betrayed and attacked… he grew up with the Minions, and became an Evil Overlord as well…'_ Naruto thought to himself before closing his eyes as he then clenched his fists at his sides.

'_And now… after living a life alone, in a village full of people who hate me, with only four people ever taking the time to acknowledge my existence… with an undead elf as a mother, and after learning of a man who has destroyed my family one by one for several generations, who has unleashed the forces of hell onto my world, who has stolen my families power, and who has murdered everyone in his way… now it is my turn to take up the mantel of my family. Now…'_ Naruto started to then before opening his eyes and knelt before Gnarl, looking the old Minion dead in the eyes…

"I will take my place in history and my family line, as the one true **Overlord!"** Naruto stated while lifting a hand proudly, only for his eyes to widen at the deep, demonic tone that was uttered at the end of his declaration. _'What… was that my voice?'_ He wondered while Gnarl uttered a low chuckle and then started to rub his hands together a wide grin across his features.

"Oh yes, yes you shall Sire! And with the help of we your Minions, you will soon be quite the Overlord indeed!" Gnarl said happily before helping Naruto back to his feet and pulled on his wrist, leading him back to the makeshift throne room. "Ahh… The Overlord. Creator of Ultimate Evil, Bastion of Total Darkness, Instiller of Brown Trouser Fear!" Gnarl said to himself and Naruto covered his mouth and snickered at the last bit, hey, he was still a kid and that sounded so silly coming from someone like Gnarl, an advisor to an Overlord, not to mention an evil and maniacal old coot.

"Now then Sire, we have so much work to do. So many spells and facts to learn armor and weapons to create, people to slaughter, an evil empire to build!" Gnarl said with a nod of his head while walking into the throne room, Giblet and Doc bowing as Naruto passed by them. "And we also have to find the hives for the other Grays, Browns, Blues, Reds, and Greens. Not only that but we'll need to retrieve the Tower er… Castle… hmm… well lets just call it the Overlord-Heart for now, The Steel, Mithril, Adamantine, Durium, and Arcanium Smelters, Spell-Stones, Charges, and Markers, and all manor of other Tower… err wait…" Gnarl started to say before frowning and then grinning as an idea for a new name came to mind.

"I mean, Overlord-Objects!" He said with a nod of his head and stopped before the makeshift throne, which was actually more like several rocks stacked together to form a chair. Sitting down, Naruto watched as Gnarl then paced before him and leaned into one of his fists, his elbow resting on one of the armrests, putting him in a slightly stereotypical Overlord pose on the throne… "We also need to get allies, the Betrayer has allies in the Infernal Abyss and around the world by the thousands. Fix the Underworld up into a proper evil home, and of course, we'll also need slaves and servants to serve your lordships _**every**_ whim." Gnarl mused while pacing, putting emphasis on every, and then started giggling to himself. When he did Naruto stared at him at the last bit about needing servants, the Minion-Master stopping and snapping his claws.

"Aha, I know! We need to go meet with the Orcs and Drow, **then** we'll be able to get some Proper Slaves around here… not like that last bunch!" Gnarl said and then spat to the side, nose curled up in distaste while Naruto gaped towards him. "Bunch of lazy good for nothing slugs that last batch! All they did was walk around and look pretty! And they couldn't even get **that** right! I swear, if they didn't want me staring at them then they should've done something **other** than just stand around and try to look pretty!" Gnarl ranted out while Naruto shook his head and reminded himself his ancestors _**were**_ evil Overlords… slaves were probably a must for any evil Overlord back then…

"But first things first, first we need to retrieve the Tower… I mean Castle… err… Overlord-Heart, and to do that we need to find the Brown Hive, and to find the Brown Hive I need to get you ready for combat, Master… but to do that I'd need to get you armor and weapons, and to do that I'd need to find both the Reds and the Smelters… but to get them I'll need the Heart and…" Gnarl said mostly to himself before grasping his head, his single eye spinning in place before he shook his head and Naruto sighed, having finally had enough of the Minion-Master's debate with himself.

"Gnarl!" Naruto called and the aging Minion-Master blinked and looked over to his new lord. "What is all that stuff your talking about? I mean c'mon, I get that I'm from a long line of Supernatural Overlords, but… can I really use Magic? Is it anything like Chakra? And for that matter, how does any of that stuff you were mentioning even work in the first place?" Naruto asked with a flat look and Gnarl blinked before having the decency to appear sheepish.

"Oh right. Forgive me Sire, I sometimes get ahead of myself." Gnarl pleaded and Naruto nodded while the Minion-Master then cleared his throat. "Right then. First I'll start off with we Minions." Gnarl said and then whistled, Giblet and Doc rushing to stand at attention with a salute. "Minions are the race you see before you sire, we were created by your ancestor the Black Barron when he combined attributes of Goblins, Gremlins, Imps, Scamps, and all manor of other, mostly unintelligent and very annoying, creatures together." Gnarl started while walking before Giblet and Doc as their postures relaxed, Giblet grinning stupidly while Doc swayed from side to side, the bounce in his step from his days as Jester clearly visible…

"We are Soldiers, Servants, and Sacrifices Sire. We do what we're told, when we're told, with absolutely no questions asked." Gnarl continued to explain and Naruto blinked for a moment when an idea came to mind.

"So if I say "Jump" you guys ask how high?" Naruto questioned with a raised brow and Gnarl shook his head for a moment.

"No Sire. If you say jump, we'll jump." Gnarl replied and Naruto blinked before motioning for the Minion-Master to continue. "Yes, now then, Minions are clever little critters sire, clever enough to make most anything into a weapon or armor, but not too intelligent to question you or your orders Sire, or having much in the way of common sense." Gnarl continued and Doc snickered as Giblet started to lick his toes. "They also don't know much about hygiene as you can probably guess." Gnarl continued while motioning over to Giblet and Naruto mutely nodded his head.

"Minions are also quite fierce in battle Sire, as you'll eventually learn. Browns, like Giblet here, are the main force of your military might, having an equal balance of strength and endurance." Gnarl continued while motioning to Giblet who flipped onto his feet and grinned widely. "And then comes myself and Doc, we are Grays. We are the intelligent Minions who can lead others into battle or act as advisors to the Overlord. We are also practically invincible, yet have no strength in combat to speak of. This means we are extremely aggressive, and we release our aggression with torture and interrogation." Gnarl continued to explain and then turned his back and walked around once more.

"Next are Overlord-Objects, which include the basic three or Minion-Totems, Mana-Pillars, and Health-Columns. Each one serves a specific purpose as well as a much lesser known purpose to your lordship. The Minion-Totem allows you to control more minions at a time for each totem that you manage to acquire; this is done by allowing you to easily and equally divide your attention between multiple things at once. Thus it also allows you to multitask outside of battle. Many an Overlord have found this useful as it allows them to concentrate on listening to me for advice even while they battle enemies." Gnarl explained and Naruto thought back on how he'd have loved to be able to do that when he was in the academy…

"Mana-Pillars generally increase the Mana-Pool that lies within your lordships body, and they will also help you with the overall control of your Mana, thus allowing you to use more spells, and to use more powerful spells much easier than others would. This also has the unique side-effect of causing your mental capacities to increase, you won't gain any actual knowledge but you will have a rather large IQ boost to allow you to figure things out on your own that much faster." Gnarl continued and yet again, Naruto _**really**_ wished he could have had that in the academy…

"Then comes the Health-Columns, they increase how quickly your body will heal from wounds or fatigue. And as an unexpected, albeit very appreciated, side effect of this, they also increases your overall lifespan from that of a normal Human, or rather in your case a normal Dragonkin, to the point you can live to be in your thousands, sire." Gnarl explained and Naruto's jaw dropped while staring at the Minion-Master… now did Gnarl just tell him he could live to be thousands of years old? Damn, being an Evil supernatural megalomaniacal Overlord really DID have its perks!

"Now then, other Overlord-Objects include the Tower Smelters. The Smetlters are our way of creating metal armor and of course weapons, and among them are the Steel, Adamantine, Mithril, Durium, and Arcanium smelters. They rather ironically affect your creativity Sire, and also, your Creativity affects what all can actually be made with any of them." Gnarl continued before taking a deep breath while Naruto wondered what odd object of his family's didn't affect him in some way…

"Next Sire are your magic spells. There are two ways in which you can learn them. The first way is to locate Spell-Stones, Charges, and Markers to instantaneously learn them without doing any real work. Of course this can also be a bit of a problem for you as you won't be able to use the spells if you lose control of the stones, or if the stones are destroyed." Gnarl explained and Naruto frowned to himself, he really didn't like shortcuts anyways, and it seemed better to actually learn those spells if he didn't want to have someone take them, and thus lose their power…

"I think I'd prefer to actually learn them myself Gnarl, I really don't like taking shortcuts. And I'd also like to have some Ninjutsu as well regardless." Naruto stated with a nod as if that was that and the Minion-Master grinned before nodding his head.

"Indeed, a most wise choice sire and one I must agree with. However in this case we must first locate the Overlord-Heart if you're to use any magic at all. Although I do believe I have a shortcut to teaching you a quick spell at the very least… as for your "Ninjutsu" it will take us some time to find any for you, as we don't have the resources to spare for the time being, but I can assure you we'll definitely find you some useful ones, sire." Gnarl started to say to himself thoughtfully and Naruto raised a brow.

"Okay… but why do I need the Overlord-Heart to learn Spells?" He asked the Minion-Master and Gnarl stroked his Goatee for a moment.

"Plainly put Sire, the Overlord-Heart will be needed to bind you to us and so it can empower you with the latent magic in the air. This means you will have access to the Mana around you as well as that which lies within your body." Gnarl explained in reply and Naruto nodded slowly in understanding of what the Minion-Master meant, before motioning for him to go on. "Now then we come to the most important of the old objects, Sire. The Heart. The Heart is what links all of your worldly possessions together and allows you to teleport milord. It is also a great power source that will heal and imbue your lordship with Mana whenever you return home. Finally, The Heart affects focus, both your ability to focus your mind on specific tasks, and your ability to focus Mana and use it to cast spells." Gnarl explained and Naruto blinked at the "Link" part of the explanation, wondering what that even meant.

"Okay… the Link?" Naruto questioned and Gnarl nodded his head while stroking his Goatee for a moment.

"Think of it this way Sire, your mind is an ocean, attached to your ocean is numerous rivers leading to your minions and artifacts, which is created by the heart, and causing them to depend on the ocean for water, or in this case, without you and the link the heart provides we would all die. This is also the case in battle, should you be badly injured in battle, we can teleport you back to the tower, however this instantly severs your connection to any Minions you have with you and they die. But unfortunately, wherever the Heart is, is also the one place you are truly vulnerable as the Heart cannot heal or teleport you if your fighting an opponent while standing too close to it." Gnarl explained and Naruto frowned while making a note to hide that damn thing somewhere no one would ever look for it…

"And besides all that, the Overlord-Heart must also be synched with you before you can officially take your station as Overlord." Gnarl then added with a shrug and saw a look cross Naruto's face when he did. "Oh don't worry Sire, it's nothing really. It's just a little ritual to bind our minds and wills to your own, nothing to worry about at all… except a little mind numbing pain of course." Gnarl explained quietly and Naruto didn't look very convinced from the expression on his face.

"What about Magic?" Naruto asked and Gnarl nodded his head with a smirk.

"Yes yes. Now then, you mentioned Chakra, it's that energy source that all of the mortal "Shinobi" use nowadays correct?" Gnarl questioned and Naruto nodded his head, the Minion Master frowning visibly. "I thought so… anyways. Mana is the power source to which Magic can be used. Mana is also known as "Mental and Spiritual Energy". It is one half of the "Chakra" that Shinobi use. It has many uses that are mirrored by Chakra, even the walking on water trick… though I don't know if we can walk up walls or not as I've never seen anyone really try that particular trick…" Gnarl started before musing to himself and stroking his goatee with a hmm. Shaking his head afterwards, Gnarl then crossed his arms behind his back.

"However, Chakra is a combination of Mana and Physical Energy, the physical portion actually causes a few problems as it's more commonly known as Life-Force. The problem I speak of Sire is known as and referred to by some as Chakra-Exhaustion. You see Sire, when you deplete Mana, it can regenerate fairly easily and without ill affect on the caster. However depleting both your Mana and Life-Force is not a good idea as it leads either to paralysis of the body for several days, or outright death." Gnarl explained and Naruto frowned in thought for a moment before scratching his head.

"Okay that makes some sense… but why use, Mana instead of Chakra?" He asked and Gnarl frowned in though while scratching his chin for a moment.

"For one thing, Chakra is actually much harder to control and the control must also be constantly maintained. With Mana on the other hand, once you learn control over it, you need not bother with it any longer. Admittedly, Chakra is more potent than Mana, but with time Mana can be refined to the point of using very little power for larger spells. Although Chakra is also useful in that it doesn't cause any physical side effects from extended and over-use. Namely causing "Will-Lines" to form over the skin and also causing rapid aging in some species, mostly humans actually. Lastly, between the two, Mana and Chakra have nearly the same effects, yet Magical spells tend to last much longer than Chakra abilities do…" Gnarl finished, though he had to admit he needed to think of ways to actually compare Chakra and Mana.

"Oh…" Naruto finally said while Gnarl then cleared his throat and grinned up at his young master.

"Now then Sire, I would truly rather not bore you with anymore specific details for your station until they are necessary. So for the time being, you should rest, once you are fully recovered however, I will explain a bit more about the Underworld and its current denizens, and then we will need to seek out the Overlord-Heat so we might finally begin our conquest of the Dark-Sanctuary!" Gnarl stated and Naruto slowly nodded his head while leaning back and closing his eyes, allowing sleep to take him as Gnarl then hopped down to speak with Giblet and Doc for a few moments…

(?)

"_Anar'alah, anar'alah belore… Sin'dorei… Shindu fallah na… Sin'dorei…" A woman's voice sung out in a beautiful melody, a pair of blearily blue eyes slowly opening and drawing their owner to the waking world. Looking around, a familiar blond haired child looks around himself, finding himself in what looked like a run down old room, the wood rotting and the light of the stars and moon shining through holes. The cold snow and wind of the world outside also sifted through the cracks and holes of the home, and the blond shivered feeling it hit his body._

"_Anar'alah… Shindu sin'dorei… Shindu fallah na… Sin'dorei… Anar'alah, belore…" The enchanting, almost hypnotic singing continued and the blond blinked while drawing an old worn blanket closer to himself. Looking around from his vantage point, the youth noticed the singing was coming from nearby and slowly pushed himself to his feet. Following the sounds of singing, the blond slowly crept through the home before slowing, his eyes widening as he saw a beautiful woman, even with strangely inhuman features, resting within a windowsill and singing sadly, an old amulet held in one hand to her right breast._

_Around the woman hover strangely female spirits, ghosts he's sure, that have oddly pointed ears and fingers, their hair wild and spiky. The spirits hum / sing an equally haunting tune for the woman, one that carries an even greater sadness with it. And as they float around the strange woman, her brilliant crimson eyes gazing down at the amulet in her hand for a moment a look of great pain crosses her beautiful features, she then looks up towards a hole in the roof where the moon shines through to bathe her in its ethereal light, giving her an even more powerful presence than she had before._

"_Shindu, Sin'dorei… Shindu fallah na… Sin'dorei… Anar'alah, belore…" The woman continued to sing before lowering her head and leaning it towards the amulet she was holding to her chest, her other arm crossing over her right arm as she closed her eyes. "Belore…" She whispered, her echoing melancholy voice seeming to convey her great sadness. As he looked at the woman, the blond haired child ignored the strange spirits as they started to humm once more, the sad tune and her own singing seeming to form out of the air without her. However, all things must come to an end, and the spirits slowly started to vanish, fading like a glowing mist, while the woman lowered her arms to gaze at the amulet in her hands for a moment._

"_So your finally awake." The woman almost whispered out, her voice echoing with an almost ghostly tenor. The surprise of the woman speaking to him caused the blond youth to nearly jump back, though instead he ended up tripping on the blanket over his form and falling back with a grunt. Looking up, the youth watched the strange woman turn to stand on her feet and walk over to him, looking down with a raised brow, her eyebrow longer than he thought was normal._

"_W-Who are you?" The blond haired child questioned fearfully and the woman knelt down and reached for him. The blond instantly flinched and closed his eyes as if expecting pain; instead, he opened one eye to find her placing a hand on his head._

"_Once, long ago, I was known as Sylvanas Windrunner, Ranger General during the Third War at Quel'thalas ." The woman remarked before bringing the child close to herself and rubbing his back comfortingly, the blond haired youth breathing in slowly and finding himself barely able to stay awake. "But… that is no longer who I am… just call me Sylvanas instead, little one." Sylvanas whispered into his hair while closing her eyes and placing her head onto his own._

"_Are… are you a ghost?" The blond youth questioned innocently, a strange half-smile forming across the woman's painted lips as she looked to him._

"_Not exactly." She replied while looking down to the blond, Naruto finding it hard not to blush given her beauty. "But, please tell me, why were you out alone this time of year, little one?" Sylvanas questioned of the youth and he blinked his eyes open, having almost fallen asleep from being held by the woman._

"_I… I was thrown out of the orphanage recently. But… most people don't seem to like me much either…" Naruto admitted to the woman, something about the woman just compelling him to speak only the truth to her. _'To the living we owe respect, but to the dead we owe only truth.'_ The blond remembered the old man once telling him when he was younger and frowned to himself while looking back up to the strangely beautiful, yet equally frightening, woman._

"_Nor I… in fact, none of the Undead Horde are treated too kindly." Sylvanas noted as she picked the blond up and stood with strength belied by her slight frame._

"_Why?" The youth questioned of the woman, seeing no reason to hate her, even given her skin was blue and eyes were red._

"_Because they think we are monsters and beasts. And where I hail from, we are but abominations and monsters to many…" Sylvanas replied before sighing as she placed Naruto back onto the bed and sat down beside of him. "Including myself…" She whispered so quietly that the blond didn't hear her, instead blinking his eyes owlishly while tilting his head to one side._

"_But… your not a monster, your beautiful! How could you be a monster? I mean… your eyes are kind of creepy, but still!" The blond declared with confusion and the woman smiled wistfully while patting his hair and looking into his eyes._

"_Only a child…" She whispered wistfully while looking to the amulet in her hand and then back to the young blond. "Do you have a name, little one?" Sylvanas questioned with a soft smile and the blond nodded his head and gave a slightly more truthful smile than he was used too._

"_Uzumaki Naruto, Ma'am." He replied before yawning lightly and Sylvanas smiled while looking down to him._

"_Then sleep well, little Naruto." Sylvanas ordered and then watched as the blond yawned once more and then curled up into his pillow before falling asleep once more…_

(Underworld…)

Gnarl smirked while watching Giblet as he worked on moving several boulders around for him. _'Giblet as the Leader of the Browns is also the most physically powerful; this will aid the Master greatly for the time being. Especially since he can practically lift the Tower-Heart on his own…'_ Gnarl noted to himself with a smirk, though inwardly reminded himself that Giblet was also prone to pranks and silly behavior, his great strength basically wasted on such an unfocused Minion.

'_Not like the others are much better… well… Gobby is better but still.'_ Gnarl mused to himself as Gobby, the Captain of the Guard, was the most focused of all Minions, shadowed only by Gnarl himself and of course Minion Mortis. Stroking his Goatee for a moment, Gnarl then walked over to the side and took out the bag that Giblet had brought him before looking to where Naruto rested. _'Soon a new Overlord shall rise to power like back in the good ol' days, and the land will remember to shudder in fear of his wrath!'_ Gnarl thought to himself while chuckling maniacally to himself at the thought of the evil his master would soon unleash onto the unsuspecting world!

Shaking his head afterwards, Gnarl turned when he heard Naruto groan, grinning once more he walked over to the throne as the blond haired boy slowly opened his eyes. "Good morning sire, I do hope you're well rested, your wounds should be fully healed by now and we have so much work to do." Gnarl noted aloud and Naruto reached up to feel his neck before reaching back and unlatching it. Slowly pulling it off, Naruto turned his head for a moment and grinned when he didn't feel any pain or discomfort. "Excellent, so shall I begin to explain about the Dark-Sanctuary to you then, Sire?" Gnarl questioned and Naruto nodded his head while the Minion Master cleared his throat, still dragging the sack behind him as he walked over to sit on Naruto's armrest.

"First of all sire, I don't have a map or this would be much easier. But suffice it to say that the Under-Dark or Underworld or Dark-Sanctuary if you prefer is currently our only practical residence." Gnarl began and saw Naruto raise a brow and start to ask him a question yet cut him off. "The reason for this is known as the "Great Purge", or at least one of them, Sire." Gnarl began with a scowl crossing his lips as he traced the scar over his missing eye and then narrowed his sole remaining eye dangerously.

"You see, the Humans, Gnomes, Halflings, Dwarves, Mer-people, and even the Elves of our lands all decided that they were "Light" races, and that everything else were "Dark" races. Not to say this wasn't a good classification, however, the races that they classed in "Dark" were merely those that looked somewhat monstrous or had… questionable cultures." Gnarl explained with a slightly nervous expression and Naruto raised a brow before motioning for him to continue, seeing no reason to speak since Gnarl would just but in. "In any case, a long time ago the Light-Races of our lands banded together and attacked the Dark-Races when the Overlord was still gone." Gnarl explained while stroking his goatee and Naruto frowned while figuring that his family had protected the Dark-Races before vanishing.

"The Dark-Races, along with we minions sire, were forced to flee into the caves of The Drow, the Under-Dark or Underworld as it was called at the time, and became known to all as the Dark-Sanctuary soon afterwards. The Light Races, emboldened by their victory, decided to do away with the Dryads, Naiads and other races that had remained neutral in this purge. These races were either completely wiped out and are now all but extinct in our lands, or evolved into new dark races from the Light's stupidity, such as Fairies changing into Unseelie, or "Evil-Fairies" as some call them and most of the Elves changing into different more "Evil" Elves instead." Gnarl explained and Naruto felt his eyebrows shoot up, having never believed that Fairies even existed…

"Now then, while we Minions were eventually called upon by future Overlords to help in their conquests of the lands, many of the other Dark-Races of our lands have thrived here in the Dark-Sanctuary, while also managing to form pacts and alliances with one another. Supposedly they expanded the Dark-Sanctuary to include several abandoned Dwarven Cities that were down here, allowing them homes to live and thrive in over the years. However the Under-Dark is extremely large, far too large for us to possibly be able to ever safely travel all of the tunnels, thus limiting our ability to travel slightly." Gnarl continued only for Naruto to frown deeply when a thought occurred to him.

"Why do you keep saying "Of our lands", Gnarl?" The blond haired youth questioned with his head tilted to one side and saw Gnarl blink for a moment before letting out a slight breath. He'd actually forgotten that the current "Elemental Nations" hadn't ventured passed their own borders in the many centuries since the last Great Purge, so wouldn't be aware of the outside continents which still had many of the races and cultures they had lost in the many purges over time.

"Because there are several other lands besides our own, the land of Albion to the west, the Broken Lands beyond that, Azeroth to the north, Tamriel to the east, and even the lands of Thedas to the south. Thus when I say "of our lands" I literally mean of our lands specifically and not all the many Light or Dark Races across the globe." Gnarl explained to the blond and he made an Oh with his mouth before motioning for the aging Minion Master to continue. "Yes, anyways as I was saying, originally there were many different races in our lands, however they have dwindled down to smaller numbers or completely died out since the last purge." Gnarl explained with a slight frown crossing his features as he remembered all the allies and soldiers that they had lost.

"Now while the purges did destroy a majority of Dark Races, the same can be said for the Light Races as well. All the in fighting and wars more or less destroyed a majority of them as well. Now, the races that still live in the Dark Sanctuary are the Goblins, the Orcs, the Drow, the Lizard-Folk, the Unseelie, and the Naga. These were the races that were lucky enough to be fairly numerous or were able to hide themselves milord, otherwise they too would have suffered the same fate as the other lost races. A few others do exist, but they hid in less remote areas." Gnarl listed before grinning to himself as he watched Giblet as he was crushed under a boulder he'd been lifting.

"First up are Goblins, they control the southern portion of the Under-Dark, which is where we currently are. They are mechanics and diggers like Dwarves, and are commonly considered "Anti-Dwarves" by many races. The Goblins are also blacksmiths, nowhere near as skilled as The Drow or The Orcs, but still there armor is of average make and the weight. As a society a Goblin is notably greedy sire, atypically doing anything, and I mean anything, for even a small amount of gold. They're also notoriously short-tempered, and their women are treated as objects unless they are enslaved by another race, or somehow trick their way out of being kidnapped." Gnarl explained to the blond haired youth and he frowned deeply at that last bit.

"By that I mean, Goblin Mating rituals and habits, which I must admit can be very aggressive sire. The male will kidnap the chosen, unmarked female of proper age and then lock her in his home where she is little more than a baby maker from that point on. As I said, females who are slaves to another species and therefore technically "Marked" by their master are left alone. However they are treated as and can be purchased or sold as property as well, as is commonly the case. In fact, a poor Goblin male with a female will likely sell her before losing other possessions. However Females that are smart enough to trick a male, or strong enough to overpower them, are excluded from this and given the same rights as a male." Gnarl finished explaining and Naruto frowned at the "Property" thing that the female Goblins went through.

"Then come the Orcs, who control the entire western sector of the Dark-Sanctuary sire. Orcs are all large and burly, even the females, and are notably powerful warriors who ignore Magic almost completely save for the occasional Orc Shamans. As a race they are a bit less prone to violence than given credit for, they are also smarter than given credit for, however they do seem to be a bit envious of others, which is probably why they tend to join together in a bandit style groups. As they commonly steal for food and resources, though this is also due to the way Light Races drive them out into deserts and other such places." Gnarl started to explain to the blond who listened with great curiosity about the races of "his" lands.

"Due to constantly being pushed out of places with more moderate temperaments and into the most extreme of conditions by Light Races, The Orcs have a much tougher body than most other races and they are also able to survive relatively comfortably in almost any climate. They are also much stronger than other races, having to work from an earlier age to survive alongside their kin. While they are also slavers like the Drow, they aren't as bad about it, and give their prisoners some amount of decency. And their own ability with the forge is, while better than a Goblin's, the weight is something of a problem unless you're a barbarian class Overlord." Gnarl explained and he mentally smirked when he saw a questioning look on Naruto's face.

"Barbarian Class?" Naruto questioned and Gnarl nodded his head with a slightly amused look on his face.

"Yes sire, you see like the Light Races, Dark Races have three basic combat classes. These are called "Sorcerer, Barbarian, and Assassin" this is to mirror the Light Races "Mage, Warrior, and Rogue" system. Given that you are a "Shinobi" I would have to assume you'd be an Assassin Class Overlord. We've actually never had one of those before now that I think about it, the others were all either Barbarians or Sorcerers, with the occasional Spell-Sword type Overlords running about. Given you're an Assassin class Overlord, then Drow Armor would be the perfect form of Armor for you sire, its usually light in weight and uses more leather than anything." Gnarl explained and Naruto slowly nodded his head in understanding before motioning for the Minion Master to continue.

"Right then, next is the Drow, who have control of the northern section of the Dark-Sanctuary. The Drow are an evolved form of the High-Elves of our land, they have a matriarchal society and believe only the most cunning should survive. However, long ago, when the betrayer was Overlord, he saved several female elves while brutally slaughtering the males for the fun of it… this caused a surprising division within the ranks of the elves as while they survived, some of the females were… changed." Gnarl started to explain before grinning to himself, Naruto frowning as this was still a story about The Betrayer, even if it was from when he was an Overlord…

"The change was basically that several of the females saw all that the Betrayer had done, and believed him to be a god rather than a man. This resulted in a sub-culture in the Elven society of our lands known as Dark-Elves, these Dark-Elves attempted to emulate the Betrayer and soon enough, Overlords in general by learning Dark-Magic. They also started adopting looser morals, and a matriarchal system of rule since The Betrayer had been slaughtering male elves, yet left all the females alone." Gnarl continued to explain and Naruto raised a brow at the big word. "Matriarchal means the women control everything sire." Gnarl explained and Naruto made another Oh with his mouth before the Minion-master cleared his throat.

"Of course, the other elves weren't too happy with this idea, they quickly attempted to force the Dark-Elves to conform to their own religion and worship of their precious bloated mother-goddess…" Gnarl said with a mock wretch before grinning toothily as he remembered the past. "And so, The Dark-Elves decided to declare war, having grown in numbers and strength. The Elves of our lands fought back of course, however given how few elves remained, they weren't willing to kill the Dark-Elves, who had no such compulsion." Gnarl continued to explain to the youth and then frowned when he remembered the next part.

"Unfortunately, the Elves were all eventually joined in battle by The Dwarves, the Humans, the Halflings and other Light Races of our lands and managed to drive the Dark-Elves into some abandoned tunnels and caves. After which the elves cast a spell that sealed the Dark-Elves away in darkness for years and years…" Gnarl said wistfully before looking at Naruto with his single yellow eye practically glowing. "Unfortunately for them, the Dark-Elves survived. They clawed and dug their way through the tunnels for years, creating a world for themselves and awaiting the spell to break…" Gnarl explained and then leaned back with his hands folded together.

"Soon, the Dark-Elves began to mutate, all that hate, bitterness, and sorrow twisted them into a new even darker-race. The Dark-Elves became The Drow. A race with tough skin as black as obsidian, eyes red as rubies that could see even in the deepest darkness, and tough sharp claws for digging through the rock and dirt of their tunnels. And still even after this, the Drow continued to worship The Betrayer, or rather, The Overlord, as a god. They actually believed each Overlord was really more of an Avatar for the spirit of their "Dark Overseer". Thus, the Light Races became their most hated enemies, and the Drow attacked them viciously when they dared enter into their caves." Gnarl continued to explain and then drummed his claws on his leg with a slight frown.

"Then years later, when the spell that bound them to darkness finally did break… the Drow could no longer live in the light without immense pain. The Drow retreated to their caves, cursing the elves and other races that had banished them to darkness so long ago. The Drow are a hateful race sire, they hate everything save their god including themselves, and yet they hide this deep hatred and self-loathing with a haughty vanity and a cruel sadistic streak. Working in darkness, the Drow formed alliances with the other Dark Races, setting up slave trades to acquire goods and take out their anger on something other than each other… and they do that anyways." Gnarl explained and Naruto grimaced before frowning deeply, as the thought of such a race of elves of all things was more than a little disturbing…

"Then we have the "Naga" or Yuan-Ti in their language, which are a serpentine race who control the Eastern section of the Dark-Sanctuary. Naga also have a veritable menagerie of sub-races. They have the Gorgon Sub-Race, which are mostly human in appearance, turn mortals to stone, and are the "royalty" of Naga. The "Lamia" sub-race which appear less human than a Gorgon, but more human than other Naga and tend to take up a more "Noble" station below the Gorgon. Then comes the "Malison" which are a little more snake like with a tail replacing their legs and scaled bodies, serving as servants and warriors. Then the "Abominations" who are the most snake like save for having arms and a semi-humanoid head, and are typically clerics." Gnarl explained and saw a frown cross Naruto's features, his head tilted to one side.

"Where did that race come from?" Naruto questioned and saw a goofy look cross Gnarl's features before snickering to himself.

"Oh, Lord Sheogorath played a prank on a human woman once a long time ago, sire. You see before our Naga were around there was a… different version which were more like snakes with human heads. However, this changed when one woman couldn't have children of her own and tried praying to the many human gods to gift her with a child, but they didn't help her. So instead she turned to the Deadric lords, and among them was Lord Sheogorath, who upon seeing a way to get a laugh or two, decided to answer her prayer. Unfortunately for her, he impregnated her with a snake, and then forced it to change into a half-human half-snake hybrid." Gnarl said before snickering and Naruto shook his head, wondering about the old Minion-Master's sense of humor.

"Anyways, you can probably imagine that the woman was shocked when she saw the creature she gave birth to, one might even think she'd try to get rid of it. However then you'd be quite mistaken, as she thanked Lord Sheogorath for hearing her plea, though mentioned never asking him or any other deadric lord for help again, and raised the creature as her own. Eventually, the woman died and the creature, while realizing it couldn't go out amongst normal humans due to its serpentine heritage, found its way to a collection of Naga, bred with them, and thus created the new race that eventually took its place." Gnarl explained to the blond haired youth while stroking his goatee and Naruto blinked before shivering, he didn't really like most snakes after all.

"So since they are distant descendants of Humans, albeit far more snake like, the Naga are a fairly friendly dark-race. Unfortunately among the many… amusing qualities from Lord Sheogorath, is that a Gorgon is born from them every so often, and that most Naga are… a bit lustful, strangely enough, and can interbreed with most any race. They atypically also have a strangely alluring quality to them, especially the more human ones, and this actually allows them to keep their population surprisingly high, even though they've been hunted for years, as such I wouldn't be surprised to find a few Half-Drow or even Half-Orc Naga when we reach their domain." Gnarl finished and Naruto raised a brow once more, then shook his head and motioned for the Minion-Master to continue.

"Next we have Lizard Folk, or Iksar in their language, who inhabit the marsh like sector of the Under-Dark to the east, which they share with the Naga. The Lizard Folk are also one of the most brutal races here in the Under-Dark sire, and are considered the polar opposite to the Drow in almost every way imaginable. They have a patriarchal system where the men control everything, they believe in survival of the fittest rather than most cunning, they are of course lizard like in appearance and as such well aware that they are not considered beautiful by others, they have Shamans rather than spell-casters, and are lead only by the strongest warrior rather than the smartest." Gnarl explained and Naruto blinked before mentally noting that they sort of worked like Shinobi, with the strongest warrior or "Kage" in charge of the others…

"Anyways, Lizard Folk have numerous different species, from the Cave dwelling Troglodytes, to the sea-faring Argonians, to the flying Pterafolk. The most common in our lands are just the Iksar, who live in marshes. However, the Argonians are mostly native to Tamriel so seeing one around here is very unlikely. The Lizard Folk live with chieftains who are always the strongest of their tribe as I mentioned before, while a Shaman works in a more counselor like role. The Chieftains will never take an insult lightly sire, and to gain their alliance you may be forced to battle the chieftain to prove yourself worthy, however this is merely their culture at work so it's nothing personal." Gnarl explained to the blond and Naruto slowly nodded his head in understanding.

"As a bit of a side note, due to being allies to the Naga, every Lizard-Folk Chieftain is expected to take a Naga as one of his brides. Being a leader, he's allowed to have many "Mates" as they put it, but he's more or less required to take a Naga as part of them. This is for increasing relations between their people, as they have always been allies even before the Great Purge led them down here. Also due to being so close to one another, finding Half-Naga Half-Iksar are even more common than any other hybrids in the Dark-Sanctuary." Gnarl finished with amusement and the blond haired youth wondered why he felt the need to explain about that to him.

"Okay… but did that "Sheogorath" guy make them as well?" Naruto questioned and saw an amused grin on Gnarl's face as his only answer. _'Thought so…'_ Naruto thought to himself with a mental roll of his eyes as Gnarl then cleared his throat.

"And finally we have the Unseelie, who have no control over any specific portion of the Dark-Sanctuary, and instead they are scattered throughout the tunnels of the Dark-Sanctuary into many smaller tribes. Each tribe is an individual unto itself sire and thus it is not in our best interest to try and gather them all together in one place, however having an alliance with each of them is still fine. Now then, much like the Drow, the Unseelie were originally a Light Race, in this case they were fairies. However after being hunted down for years by humans, the Unseelie changed into a more vicious race." Gnarl started to explain and Naruto raised a brow, wondering how a Fairy of all things could ever become a vicious race.

"However the Unseelie are not built for combat in any way sire, so this was completely one sided at the time. However soon the Unseelie found a way to actually bind themselves to the magic of beings of an especially dark disposition. Thus Unseelie became Familiars to Overlords and other such dark beings. The Unseelie make excellent spies and scouts due to their diminutive stature. In fact, they were around when our first Master, The Black Barron, arrived in these lands. An entire colony bound itself to him and helped him take control of the lands, thus making the Unseelie, one of our oldest allies." Gnarl explained and Naruto slowly nodded his head, then frowned to himself for a moment as he considered all that.

"So, all those races live in the Dark-Sanctuary then, Gnarl?" Naruto questioned and the Aged Minion-Master nodded his head with a slight smirk on his lips as he nodded his head. "Okay, so all I have to do is unite the creatures of the Dark-Sanctuary… then I can go back to Konoha?" Naruto questioned of the aging Minion-Master and Gnarl nodded his head while stroking his goatee lightly.

"Uh… maybe not, sire. While it is true that the Dark-Sanctuary is our first goal, we also have Shadow-Mountain and Everlight-Island to conquer, which is where the rest of the Dark-Races of our lands have had to hide themselves. But then after we unite all the Dark-Races together under your banner, we'll then need you to reestablish your rule of all the lands. As such, you will need to conquer each of the Elemental Nations, thus reclaiming the lands of The Overlord." Gnarl replied with a nod of his head and Naruto frowned to himself for only a moment before shaking his head.

"Is that really necessary Gnarl? I mean, don't we have more than enough room for the Dark-Races down here already… do we really need to conquer the elemental nations as well?" The blond questioned and the aging Minion-Master merely nodded his head.

"Unfortunately yes sire. While the Dark-Sanctuary will make for a fine fortress and city under your rule, there is still the chance of the "Shinobi" of this age attempting to destroy us all, or worse, The Betrayer could attempt to turn them to his side, joining with his own allies, and attack us in mass in order to kill you and take back the power of The Overlord." Gnarl replied and Naruto grimaced to himself before scratching the back of his neck with a nervous grin.

"Oh… right… so where do we begin then, Gnarl?" Naruto questioned and Gnarl grinned widely while hopping off of the stone-throne and pulled out the old burlap sack he'd been clutching before.

"First of all sire, while we don't have any _**good**_ armor or weapons for you we do have a few items from the old Overlords rule to give you. These include the Overlord Gems, which allow you to absorb both Evil Energy and Life-Force in order to produce more Minions." Gnarl explained before reaching into the sack to pull out a pair of large manacle like bracelets with a bright yellow gem embedded into them that looked to fasten with a clamp of some kind.

"Okay… so I wear these and then I absorb that Life-Force stuff to make Minions. But what about Evil-Energy? I don't remember being told anything about that before…" Naruto notes while taking the two bracelets, then looked to Gnarl and the aged Minion Master grinned nervously in response.

"Er… sorry Sire, but it seemed a bit superfluous at the time." Gnarl replied and Naruto raised a brow, clearly confused by the "Big-Word" that Gnarl had decided to use. "In any case, Evil-Energy is more or less an equivalent to the same energy that Archon's use and absorb into themselves to grow stronger, only inverted. As I said earlier, Archons are your very distant cousins. They absorb energy from fallen enemies, it increases their power and abilities, you do the same thing, only with Evil-Energy." Gnarl explained and Naruto wondered who decided to call it that if it wasn't really evil… or was it just because most of his family members were evil and it sounded ominous?

Ignoring that thought Naruto then watched as Gnarl pulled out a strange leather facemask made from what appeared to be a series of straps from the bag, several straps with buckles for fastening it around the head visible on it. "This is a mask worn by most Overlords sire, it helps when you don't want your enemies knowing what you look like. It also changes the sound of your voice, as well as makes your glowing eyes more prominent, which makes you seem a bit less human and thus more dangerous." Gnarl explained while sitting the mask down to the side and started to reach back into the sack.

"That seems kind of odd for an Overlord to wear." Naruto noted while taking the mask into his hands and looking it over as well before sitting it in his lap.

"Sire, if you were an evil megalomaniacal Overlord bent on world-domination and the utter eradication of your enemies, with enemies who would love nothing more than to kill you in the most painful way imaginable, would you actually want people outside of your home to know what you look like?" Gnarl questioned of the blond haired youth flatly and a nervous grin spread across Naruto's face.

"Well, when you put it that way." Naruto admitted and Gnarl nodded his head while digging around the sack once more.

"Yes, now since I can't teach you any spells I'll have to improvise a bit until we can secure the Overlord-Heart. As such I present to you a "Flame-Gauntlet" it will allow you to use some minor fire spells by channeling your Mana… err… Chakra into it until I can teach you some actual spells." The old Minion-Master then stated while pulling a right-handed fingerless black leather gauntlet with steel knuckles and glowing red runes.

"Cool." Naruto said while reaching out and taking the gauntlet, then pulled it on over his right arm widening his eyes as it shrunk down to his exact size. "How…?" Naruto started to question but, as per usual it seemed, Gnarl beat him to the punch.

"That was magic Sire. Another plus to using it over Chakra, the effects of Magic can last for decades if not centuries after its caster has already passed away." Gnarl explained to the blond haired youth, Naruto blinking in surprise for a moment before flicking his hand to the side, yelping as a tiny-fireball flew from his fingertips. The fireball moved with surprising speed before nailing Giblet in the ass, the Brown yelping as he jumped high into the air, hands on his ass even as the flames quickly died out.

"B-but… I didn't even use any hand seals or magic-words… hell I didn't even try to make a fireball or anything?" Naruto said while looking at the Flame Gauntlet with wide eyes Gnarl snorting before laughing outright. Taking his time and holding his ribs for a moment Gnarl then shook his head and gave an amused look to the blond haired youth who was to be his new master.

"Sire, please, do you honestly think we use Magic-Words? Do we look like elves?" Gnarl questioned of his blond master with an amused grin and Naruto frowned deeply while glaring at the Minion.

"No… I can honestly say you look almost nothing like elves." Naruto admitted and Gnarl nodded his head before stroking his goatee with a smirk.

"Correct Sire. Most Dark-Races use a different kind of Spellcraft than light races, magic words are atypically associated with Elves while Druids, Sorcerers, Warlocks, Wizards, and other forms of Spellcasters all have different methods of conjuring magic. I believe there's even a certain sect of Witches that carve magical runes permanently into their skin… But as for why it was so easy to use that gauntlet, the spell-work itself is woven into every fiber of it's being, you literally need no effort or even thought to cast a fire-ball spell with that thing on Sire." Gnarl explained and Naruto made an Oh with his mouth while looking at the gauntlet for a moment more.

"Next up is something most Overlords tended to wear over their armor, though even I'm not exactly sure why they did so…" Gnarl said then admitted to himself while scratching his chin as he pulled out a tattered red Scarf with a Minion head shaped clasp from the sack and Naruto rolled his eyes even as he added them to the other items. "These however are to offer you some minor protection until we can make you some proper Armor, sire." Gnarl explained as he pulled out a pair of leather Greaves and a left-handed fingerless leather glove / forearm guard from the bag.

"Then we have the only weapon I could save for you sire, sadly it's not like a sword or an axe or anything like that, but since you're so young it should be just right for you." Gnarl said while pulling a single edged dagger with a Minion Symbol stationed at the pommel with an M shaped guard from the bag, though Naruto noted that it looked a little long for a standard Dagger and more like a Carving Knife. With the dagger was a belt with a small sheath for it and a pouch positioned where his lower back would be when wearing it, and oddly enough there was also a chain hanging from the right side, possibly for balance, or maybe it was just there for the sake of looks.

"Okay, so I wear all this and then we go out looking for that Heart Thing, right?" Naruto asked and Gnarl nodded his head while Naruto sighed while getting up in order to put the additions on.

"It's Overlord Heart, Sire. But hold on a moment, you need not bother with that yourself." Gnarl said, causing Naruto to look at him in confusion until Gnarl grinned and snapped his fingers, the blond yelping as Giblet and Doc jumped into action. The two minions nearly caused Naruto to become dizzy as they speedily started to pull his new ornaments and equipment onto his body.

"Master, evilness truly suits you." Gnarl noted as Giblet and Doc managed to get the belt around the blond's waist before snapping the Minion shaped buckle closed. "Now, let us go forth…" Gnarl cried while Giblet and Doc pulled on the leather greaves and glove, then snapped on the manacles / bracelets over his wrists overtop them. "There are many nefarious deeds that need to be done!" Gnarl noted aloud with an evil grin as Giblet and Doc climbed up the young Overlord's body onto his shoulders and then quickly pulled the scarf on over his shoulders and snapped the Minion-Seal clasp closed.

"I can feel the land quake in fear already…" Gnarl finished as Giblet and Doc pulled the Facemask over Naruto's face, then jumped to the ground with a dual grins. The Aging Minion-Master then walked forward and reached up enough to pull the scarf upwards into a hood over the blond's hair. The shadows from the hood combined with the dark leather material of his mask causing the blond's glowing blue eyes to become more prominent, giving him a slightly more inhuman appearance…

"I must say, you look positively malevolent, Sire!" Gnarl said with a grin while Naruto looked at himself, though couldn't help but notice his pants didn't go well with the red of the scarf. "Although I do see some room for alteration in the future, but for now this will do nicely." Gnarl then admitted with a slight frown across his face and Naruto nodded his head in agreement with the Minion Master. While it was true that he liked Orange, he didn't see the bright orange jumpsuit working with his new line of work. Though he figured he could wear a dark or even Red-Orange Scarf over some black clothes and armor…

"Now come Sire, we must locate the Overlord-Heart at once!" Gnarl then said while hobbling off, Naruto following behind him while crossing his arms.

"You're coming too?" Naruto asked the Minion Master before blinking when he heard the strange, whisper like tone of voice that echoed ominously from the shadows of his hood. _'Wow, this mask really works…'_ Naruto thought to himself as he followed Gnarl, Giblet and Doc following closely behind them.

"Sadly I must, without being synched up with the Overlord-Heart, I won't be able to speak with you threw mental contact… also without a proper helmet or even a simple crown I can't do that without the Heart either." Gnarl noted to himself with a frown and caused Naruto to raise a brow and stare at the minion master.

"A Helmet?" The blond questioned and Gnarl nodded his head.

"Yes. You see Sire, one of the Overlords' usual artifacts is a Helmet, and for young "Trainee Tyrants" like yourself it is used as a medium for me to speak with the young Overlord when I can't be with him or her in person and when we don't have use of the Tower, er… I mean Overlord-Heart. You see, sire a Trainee Tyrant will train in the use of Overlord powers and artifacts for a set amount of time before we normally do the ritual to synch them with the Overlord-Heart. Of course I also can't make a helmet like that without a Tower-Smelter… it's really quite annoying in these situations." Gnarl explained while hobbling down a long tunnel with Naruto squinting his eyes at his side.

The Tunnels were unfortunately very dark, and while his eyes did glow, they weren't able to pick up on light like a cat, or other nocturnal creatures, could. As such, the blond haired "Trainee Tyrant" was finding it increasingly difficult to see in the near pitch-dark tunnels. Grumbling as he hit his toe on a rock, the blond then placed a hand onto one wall while trying to keep himself on a single path. "I really wish I could see down here…" Naruto mumbled mostly to himself and Gnarl looked to the blond and slapped his head.

"Oh of course, I need to tell you about that, sire. The Overlord-Gem can also act as a light-source for dark places. You really need to wear it for this to function and they'll glow bright enough to light your way. The light should also act as a beacon so we can find the Overlord-Heart down here. Being an Overlord-Object they'll be attracted to it and the light will get brighter in its direction." Gnarl explained while they walked down the many tunnels and halls of the Underworld. Blinking for a moment, Naruto looked to his arm, specifically where his Overlord gem was, and then let out a sigh. Holding his hand forward, the young Overlord allowed it to glow brightly, illuminating the tunnels.

'_Well this helps things a bit.'_ The blond decided while he continued to make his way down the tunnels, then heard a snap and turned to see Gnarl who was grinning.

"Aha! That's something I need to teach you right away!" Gnarl decided and Naruto raised a brow as Gnarl looked over to Giblet with a smirk. "Giblet, fall in! The Master needs to learn how to control Minions." Gnarl decided with a nod of his head, Giblet hollering happily before bowing slightly to Naruto.

"At you command, Master!" He declared, Naruto looking to Gnarl for an explanation of what was going on. Seeing the look, Gnarl reminded himself that he had only explained the basics of Minions to the boy before clearing his throat.

"Now then sire, I'm going to teach you about controlling Minions. You don't need to give verbal commands; instead, you use your raw will to control them. The Overlord Gems in your bracelets will allow you to control only a limited amount of Minions at a time, Five to be precise, and without Minion Totems and being at least partially synched to the Overlord-Heart, you won't be able to control any more." Gnarl explained before motioning over to Giblet and then pointed to a very narrow pathway at the side of the tunnel.

"First things first, sweeping your minions, just concentrate on Giblet and will him to move along the path you wish him to sire. If it helps, use your hands as a focus, many passed Overlords found this helpful." Gnarl explained and Naruto slowly nodded his head before holding his right hand up and concentrated on Giblet. The Minion's eyes seemed to glow brightly as he did, and Naruto moved his hand towards the path, Giblet instantly following his hands path and moving where he'd wanted him too.

"Now then, you can also force Minions to stay at a single spot if you wish, most Overlords imagine a "Guard-Marker" of some kind over the spot they want the Minions to stay when they do this." Gnarl explained and Naruto nodded his head before moving Giblet over to the side and then imagined an orange flag on an obsidian pole where he wanted him to stay. "And to call your Minions back, you merely have to will him back to you, Sire. However you could also try thinking of a "tone" for this one." Gnarl suggested and Naruto nodded while closing his eyes and imagining a war horns tone. As he opened his eyes, Naruto raised a brow as Giblet instantly came rushing back to him.

"Whoa… it works…" Naruto noted in no small amount of surprise while Gnarl merely rolled his eyes with an amused look on his face.

"Yes indeed, also, you should know you can mentally order your minions to attack, collect, or even break things as well." Gnarl then explained to the youth before looking around for a moment before frowning to himself when he saw nothing they could use for practice. "Unfortunately we have nothing to practice this on, save Doc, but he's not the Jester anymore and I'd really rather find the Overlord Heart before making more Greys." Gnarl decided and Naruto shrugged, leaving the nuts and bolts of his empire to the old coot until he could get a handle on how exactly things are run. Turning and walking back down into the caves with Gnarl, Doc, and Giblet, Naruto held up one of his hands and conjured light from his Overlord Gem.

As he walked through the tunnels, Naruto idly noticed some strange symbols that seemed to have been carved into the walls. Raising a brow as he saw them, the blond continued walked while noticing a couple of pictures over the seals, arrows and such at least, and what looked like a spider, a snake, and a little person. "What are these in the walls Gnarl?" Naruto questioned of the minion Master while still walking forward and the Minion-Master hummed in thought to himself. Soon the aging minion snapped his fingers and grinned slightly to himself.

"Those are the symbols that are used by the Goblins, Drow, and Troglodytes who make these tunnels, Sire. They use them to tell which tunnel goes to what down here so they won't constantly be getting themselves lost. They are carved so that they can also feel them in case they have no way of actually seeing them." Gnarl replied and Naruto looked at the runes for a moment, and then frowned to himself. _'I wonder if Gnarl can read these…? If he can maybe he could lead us around so we wouldn't be running around more or less blind…'_ The blond haired Overlord wondered to himself for a moment before looking back to the aged Minion-Master.

"Can you read these then, Gnarl?" Naruto questioned while coming to a stop and Gnarl grumbled to himself before hobbling over to the runes, Giblet and Doc hanging back to keep out of their way. Stroking his goatee for a moment, Gnarl then reached up and started to scratch his head as he tried to read the runes before turning around to face Naruto and shrugged.

"I have absolutely no idea what these say sire… and really, why would I? I'm a Minion-Master, not a bloody translator!" Gnarl told the blond haired youth and Naruto groaned while palming his face and shaking his head. _'Why didn't you say that before?'_ The blond wondered to himself before turning around and continuing to walk aimlessly through the many tunnels of the Dark-Sanctuary…

TBC…


	4. Goblins Pt1

**Disclaimer**: I own anything within; this story is merely a way for me to alleviate boredom…

[Giblet: Oooh oooh we're back!

Gnarl: Why do you always shout out before the master you twit?

Doc: Well maybe he's just too stupid to realize what he's doing.

Lord-Pain: I really don't care why; just start the damn fic already!

Giblet: Yes Master!]

_**NU**_: _**Dark Lord**_ +

_**Chapter 3**_: _**Goblins Pt. 1**_…

"Normal Speech"…

'_Normal Thoughts_'…

[Radio/Tower Heart In Use]…

"**Jutsu In Use**"…

"**Demon Speech**"…

'_**Demon Thoughts**_'…

"_**Inner Spirit Speech**_"…

(Dark Sanctuary…)

Naruto walked down the tunnels of the Dark-Sanctuary with Gnarl, Giblet, and Doc ahead of him with a slight frown. As they traveled down the many tunnels, the blond noticed more and more runes / pictographs carved into the walls. _'I really wish one of us could actually read these Symbols. It'd sure make looking for this Overlord-Heart thing a whole lot easier in the long run. I mean if they were in something more similar to Elven I could read them myself, but still.'_ The blond thought to himself as he walked with Gnarl, Giblet, and Doc, further and further into the depths of the Dark-Sanctuary. Looking to his Overlord Gem, Naruto watched the light glow brighter in one direction and turned down it with the Minions hot on his heels.

"I hope that we find this Heart Thing soon, Gnarl. I want to get out of this place sometime before…" Naruto started to say before yelping as the floor collapsed under the combined weight of he, Giblet, and Doc. Thus he Giblet and Doc fell down into an underground cavern, rubble nearly falling on top of them though Naruto instinctively rolled out of the way. Cursing lightly, Gnarl hurried to the side of the hole and then looked down into it, a dusty haze blocking his field of vision of those below.

"Sire! Are you alive down there?" Gnarl questioned loudly, a groan answering him as the dust slowly cleared, showing Naruto rubbing the back of his neck / head with a pained grimace under his mask.

"I think so… but I'll be sure when the ringing in my ears stop…" Naruto replied with a groan, Giblet then pulling his head out of the rubble nearby and swooning from side to side with a dopey grin on his face.

"Ooh… we goes boom boom…" Giblet said with an insane giggle while Doc then flipped back up onto to his feet and made his way over to Naruto. Taking hold of the young Trainee-Tyrants head, he checked for any major injuries, such as a cracked skull, before then lightly rapping his hand on the blond's head and frowned. Looking around he then pulled a thin vial from his side and held it towards Naruto.

"Here Sire, a Lesser Healing Potion it should help with any concussion you might've sustained from the fall." Doc offered and Naruto looked at him for a moment before taking it and uncorking the potion. Drinking it down when he did, the blond then felt his headache slowly vanish and a strange warmth take its place.

"Wow, that stuff really works fast!" Naruto noted and Gnarl frowned deeply while looking down at them.

"Don't get too used to it Sire, that medicine is harder to make than you might think… and Doc should remember that we don't have the supplies to be using so much so recklessly!" Gnarl growled out towards Doc, causing the former Jester to gulp as Naruto stood up and looked around, before noticing that the cave they were in was filled with webs, while a pair of tunnels was stationed over to his side. Frowning, the blond made his way over to the tunnels, then held up his right arm, the light from his gem glowing brighter towards his left…

"Is something wrong sire?" Doc asked quickly, mostly hoping to get any attention off of himself and Naruto nodded his head with a frown, drawing Gnarl's attention while Giblet held his head, his eyes spinning.

"Wooh… room go round!" He cried out with a grin though the others chose to ignore him as Naruto rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah, I think the Heart is down this way, the gem is glowing brightly towards this tunnel like you said it would Gnarl." Naruto noted and Gnarl blinked before quickly scurrying down as well while Giblet giggled stupidly, his eyes still spinning in his skull. "What's wrong with Giblet?" Naruto then questioned and Doc turned to look at him, frowned for a moment, then crossed his arms.

"Oh he's just a wee bit dizzy, sire. He'll be fine in a little while." Doc replied nonchalantly and Naruto looked to where Giblet was before turning back to Gnarl as he jumped down into the pit as well. Looking around for a moment, the aging Minion-Master frowned upon seeing where the light was glowing.

"T'would seem that the Overlord-Heart is closer than I originally believed… must be Prior's work…" Gnarl muttered under his breath with a frown while Naruto walked into the tunnel. Looking to the runes, Naruto noticed one was made in the image of a creature very similar to a Minion.

"Where do these tunnels lead Gnarl?" Naruto questioned while ducking down as he entered and a frown crossed Gnarl's lips as he noticed how small the tunnels were.

"Most likely to the goblins domain sire, the size of these tunnels are too small for the Drow or Troglodytes to have dug them out." Gnarl replied as they soon came to the mouth of the cave and all of them looked out to see a city. The city wasn't like Konoha; this one was literally made of steel and stone, and was built more like some twisted mechanical marvel than it was a city. The city was vast enough for all the Goblins, which Naruto could see from where he was. The city was also made up of strange angles and turns, seeming to have been designed by someone who was partially or maybe even fully insane, with what looked like twisting tube like cords that made up a large percentage of the outer walls of the different buildings.

"You know… those sort of look like Minions." Naruto noted while leaning forward and pulling his goggles down over his eyes with a frown. Flicking a small switch at the side of the Goggles lenses to look down at the creatures with a more critical eye. Beside of him Gnarl merely leaned forward and nearly grinned upon seeing the mass of green skinned creatures below them.

From what Naruto could see and tell of them, the Goblin Race were short, ranging from roughly three to almost four feet in height, and are a gangly assortment of creatures with sloped foreheads, spindly limbs, a smooth green hide rather than skin, the shade of green varying between them, sharp yellow teeth, with eyes of varying color though yellow seemed the most common, a sharp chin, some had hair and some didn't, their ears were long and slanted with some having jewelry in them, they all have a thin pointed nose, they all have three fingers and a thumb on their hands, with four toed feet, both ending with sharp claws, and a length of dull ridges down the length of their spines.

Oddly enough, from what few females he could see, they seemed a little "Cuter" than the males, their noses were shorter than males, eyes seemed a bit larger and wider, with more curves to their bodies than their male counterparts, and their lips were also a bit more noticeable with a few having them painted different colors, they also seemed to be the ones with the most jewelry in their ears, there eyelashes were also longer, and from what he could see, a common trait they all shared was having hair, unlike some of the male goblins who seemed to be bald.

Also strange was that it seemed as if a majority of the Goblins wear the same outfit, though it was also modified from individual to individual. The outfit started with a long segmented leather shirt of varying colors, sometimes replaced with an apron, black bandages around their hands / forearms and legs / shins, a black loincloth with straps curving over their outer thighs, a brown harness formed around their shoulders with a metal plate at their backs, certain individuals also wore hard-hats for mining / digging, armor for guards / soldiers, or other individual equipment and items for their different tasks / jobs around the caverns.

"Those are Goblins, Sire. And they are actually our ancestral kin as Minion-Kind was partially made from them, as such the resemblance is genetic." Gnarl responded from his position nearby and then frowned to himself when he saw two tall Goblins gorging themselves and shouting out orders to the many others. "Hmm, something doesn't seem right about this, sire…" Gnarl noted before moving and sliding down to the ground below, followed by Doc and Giblet. Pushing his goggles back to his forehead and following after the Minions, Naruto landed in a crouch and slowly moved forward while crouching low to the ground, as they got closer to the tall Goblins. Moving beside of Gnarl, Naruto noted the two taller than average Goblins that were eating the meat from what looked like an animal skin.

"Keep working!" One declared loudly, having bright red eyes with his black hair slicked back, dressed in a combination of red and black robes / armor.

"Yeah! We have to… uh, make certain that everything is ready for the Overlords arrival!" The one beside the first declared loudly, who seemed to be his twin, having only Purple eyes and purple and white robes / armor to differentiate him from the first one. Hearing this, Naruto raised his brow before looking to Gnarl, a scowl on the aging Minion Master's face.

"They know we're coming?" Naruto questioned with clear confusion in his voice, the aging Minion-Master frowning deeply.

"No Sire, they don't." He replied darkly before ducking down and making his way to the side behind several crates filled with precious stones. Looking around for only a moment, Naruto then followed after his Minion-master with Giblet and Doc taking up the rear behind him.

"Wait, if they didn't know about me, then why did that Purple one say that I'm coming to all the others?" The blond haired Overlord questioned while following behind his Minion-Master and Gnarl grunted in response. Turning down into a small stream, the Minion-master made sure no one was nearby before waving for the others to follow him towards the sewers.

"Most likely those two are just pretending that you're back in order to control the Goblin Horde." Gnarl replied with a frown and Naruto blinked before raising a brow as he looked to his Minion-Master in confusion.

"What… why would they do that?" The blond haired Overlord questioned of the old Minion and Gnarl clicked his tongue before responding.

"Because sire, what is happening is an easy way to ensure their own survival while forcing the other Goblins to work. Goblins become Chief of their kind usually by treachery and deception. Namely, they usually have the former chief assassinated and take control of the others. Those two must've done this, and now to ensure they don't receive the backlash of forcing them to work to near death, they are more or less saying The Overlord wants them to work and pushing all the blame on you." Gnarl responded with a deep scowl as he came to a sewer grate and motioned for Giblet to pry it off.

"So wait, how did they convince the horde that I'm even coming back?" Naruto questioned of Gnarl and the aging Minion-Master frowned deeply for a moment before narrowing his eyes.

"Most likely they found the Overlord Heart and are using it as proof you've returned. We must hurry and retrieve the Heart at once master! Before these fools manage to break it and doom us all!" Gnarl declared while hobbling into the sewer, Giblet right behind him followed by Naruto and Doc. Looking around the sewers for a moment, Naruto then waved a hand before his face with an almost visible grimace.

"This place really stinks… and I mean more than the sewers back in Konoha did!" Naruto declared with disgust, Gnarl nodding his head while making his way through the sewers with a frown.

"Goblins are notably less hygienic than humans sire, any waste down here will be twice as filthy as anything your people would produce." Gnarl responded with a wave of his hand and then frowned when he saw what looked like lights.

"Where'd these guys get electronic lights? Those are kind of hard to come by even back in Konoha…" Naruto noted aloud upon seeing the large bulbs overhead and Gnarl merely rolled his eyes for a moment.

"Goblins are engineers sire, as I mentioned before, and they are the only Dark Race I know of which can match the brilliance of the Dwarves and their own machines." Gnarl responded while turning to the side to hop up onto a dry patch and walk along it, followed by Naruto, Giblet, and Doc. However, the blond then heard a squeak like sound and turned, cursing as he jumped out of the way of a rat that was longer than his arm.

"Holy shit!" The blond declared while quickly pulling his knife from his side and swinging it as the Rat came at him once more, slicing the rodent in half and letting out several breaths. "I've… I've never seen a rat that big in my life!" Naruto declared with wide eyes while Giblet grabbed the rat and licked his lips before munching into it, Doc quickly grabbing the other half for himself.

"Those are mutant rats sire, they pop up wherever concentrated magic is located. The magic causes them to grow at an exponential and unnatural rate, allowing them to grow to sizes that are impossible in nature. Some of them can even grow large enough to the point that they can eat a full sized human adult. These probably crawled from either the Naga or Drow section and started to breed here in the Goblin Domain." Gnarl responded and Naruto's eyes bolted open before looking around warily. The blond then backed up and widened his eyes when he saw a sphere of yellow light form in the air over where the rat had been only a moment before.

"What is that?" Naruto questioned while leaning towards the glowing sphere of yellow light and a grin crossed Gnarl's features.

"That's Life-force, Sire. I believe I mentioned it to you before." Gnarl replied and Naruto blinked before slowly nodding his head and moving towards it. Taking a better look at the floating ball of Life-Force, Naruto saw it almost resembled fire, before it started to fall and then landed lightly on the ground.

"You said I could use this to make more Minions?" Naruto recalled / questioned while looking over to Gnarl, the aging Minion-Master nodding his head and clearing his throat for a moment.

"Indeed Sire, Life-Force is the main ingredient to creating a Minion, however we lack a Minion-Hive or I could show you exactly how that works. Your Overlord Gem actually creates a field around your body, Sire. This field forces Life Force out of the newly dead, allowing you or your minions to collect it. I should also mention that Life Force must be absorbed within five-minutes of being expelled from a body, or it'll just disperse into the air around you naturally." Gnarl then explained to the blond haired youth and Naruto knelt down and placed a hand under the glowing yellow ball before picking it up almost reverently.

'_Wow… so this is what gives life to people and animals… I wonder… could I maybe give this to Sylvanas Hime, and bring her back to life then?'_ The blond haired youth wondered inwardly while placing his other hand overtop the ball of light. _'It's… warm.'_ He added to himself while Gnarl grunted for a moment while watching the blond play with the bit of life force he'd extracted from the rat. "Master, if you wish to collect Life-Force you must place it into the Overlord Gem." Gnarl stated while watching Naruto blink then look at the ball of light for a moment before placing it over his right Overlord Gem. Instantly, the ball of light lowered into the gem and Naruto glowed with a yellow light for a very brief moment.

"Whoa… that felt, weird." Naruto noted to himself, Gnarl smirking as he saw the blond haired youth's eyes flash crimson red for a brief moment. Chuckling in his throat, Gnarl then turned and continued through the sewers with a smirk on his lips.

"You'll get used to it Sire, all the previous Overlords had to do so as well…" Gnarl replied with a wave of one arm and Naruto raised a brow for a moment before following behind the aged Minion-Master.

"So, is there any chance we'll run into anymore of those big rat things down here?" He asked worriedly and Gnarl frowned for a moment while stroking his goatee. Behind them, Giblet had finished eating the meat out of his rat and fashioned what was left into a hat with a grin, Doc rolling his eyes as he used the tail to fashion his end into a new furry loincloth.

"Of that gargantuan size I mentioned, it's very unlikely we'll encounter one down here, but I'm completely certain we'll encounter at least a few more of the medium sized Mutant Rats." Gnarl replied off handedly as he walked along a path through the sewers, turning down a hall with his master and fellow minions following.

"Why don't the Goblins just kill them all off? I mean aren't they too dangerous to leave running around down here aren't they?" Naruto questioned of the aging Minion-Master and Gnarl let off a slight sigh before answering.

"They eat them…" He replied plainly and Naruto blinked for a moment then shrugged his shoulders, having eaten worse things than rats, and things with less meat than the Mutant Rats, he could see nothing wrong with what the Goblins did with them. Hearing several high-pitched squeaks echoing down the corridors, Naruto pulled his knife back out, Giblet producing a club from… somewhere, while Doc and Gnarl slowly backed away, neither one being built for combat. Just as they got out of the way, a horde of Mutant-Rats lunged at them from the end of the corridor before jumping at them.

Grinning with a giggle, Giblet used his club like a bat, easily knocking rat after rat away with his great strength. Watching with more trepidation, Naruto evaded several lunges from the rats, making sure not to allow them to surround him before swinging his knife and cutting one of them in half like the first. Twisting the knife into a back-handed grip however the blond lunged forward, swinging the weapon with deadly precision and slicing the rats into pieces while Giblet slammed his club into several of them. Kicking back as another rat came at him, Naruto then twisted into a stab, killing the rat and throwing it to the side.

Looking around for a moment, Naruto then ducked down as a rat tried to jump on him and held his blade up, gutting the rat and dousing him in its entrails when he did. Groaning and wiping the gore from himself, Naruto then rolled back as two more rats tried to bite at him. _'Something tells me the diseases from these things is worse than what you get from normal rats.'_ The blond haired youth decided to himself while Giblet then whooped loudly as he swiftly slammed his club down into one of the rats with a grin, and Naruto lunged forward and swung his knife upwards, splitting the last rat's head in two. Breathing out a sigh of relief, Naruto then twirled his knife in hand before holstering it into his belt.

"Well, that was easy." Naruto mused to himself while crossing his arms and Gnarl raised a brow while looking at him strangely. However a second later numerous spheres of yellow light rose out of the rats and started to hover around him.

"Er… wait, Sire, rather than have to collect those by hand, or with minions, I suggest that you hold our your hand, gem forward." Gnarl ordered and saw Naruto raise a brow before doing as bade, then yelping as the Life-Force shot into the Overlord-Gem on his right wrist, his eyes staying a bright blood red for a few seconds before returning to their original azure hue. "That little trick was developed by the Overlord of Nordburg, he eventually got tired of having to have Minions collect Life-Force on large battlefields so he went to Albion and studied a similar trick that the Archons use. Once he learned it, he stopped using Minions to collect Life-Force altogether." Gnarl explained while Naruto shook his head while blinking his eyes open and closed for a moment.

"I really hope I eventually get used to that…" Naruto mumbled to himself while placing a hand to his head, not even noticing his now clawed fingers.

"As I said, all Overlords eventually do…" Gnarl replied and then looked at the blond haired youth strangely for a moment. "Now then, could you please tell me where the bloody hell you learned to fight like that, master?" Gnarl questioned of the young Overlord and Naruto grinned nervously while rubbing the back of his head.

"Uh… well to be honest, they teach us the basics for Knife-Fighting in the academy back home. A Kunai isn't just used for throwing after-all, you also have to know how to use them in combat." Naruto responded, though wasn't being _**entirely**_ truthful with the aging Minion-Master. While they did teach some Knife-Fighting basics in the academy, that wasn't where he learned it, and his mind seemed to zone out as the memories of when he did learn how to fight with a knife came rushing back. Gnarl merely shrugged his shoulders at his master's explanation, and then continued to traverse through the many tunnels of the sewers, the blond absently following him with a distant look in his glowing azure eyes.

"Well that makes a little sense, and at least you have a basic idea of how to fight." Gnarl mused to himself then looked to Naruto with an amused expression on his face. "But just don't forget you can also use Fire-Magic with that Guantlet of yours master." The aged Minion-Master reminded and Naruto absently nodding his head, his mind drifting off to when he actually learned to use a knife from his surrogate mother, The Banshee Queen herself, Sylvanas Windrunner…

_(Past…)_

_The Banshee Queen, The Dark Lady, Leader of The Forsaken, Mistress Sylvanas Windrunner is reclining in a tree, one leg hanging as she rests on a lone branch. "You should hurry little one, I might decide to move if you take too long…" The Banshee Queen noted aloud while looking down at a blond haired child as he used a pair of knives to climb up the tree she was resting on. Pouting for a moment, the child then grit his teeth while reaching up to grab a branch and pulled himself to rest on it with a light breath as he rested for a brief moment._

"_Why did I have to climb up here again?" Naruto questioned of his, well… he wasn't really sure what she was to him, she seemed to look after him, and he sometimes wished he could just run off with her and leave Konoha, but… what did she think of him? Smiling slightly, Sylvanas reached into a pouch she carried with herself and pulled out then unfolded a pair of collapsible curved and vaguely S shaped doubled edged knives before twirling them in hand._

"_Because in any fight you always want to have the high-ground." She replied while lunging at him, the blond yelping as he rolled back, holding onto the branch with his legs and swinging out of the way as Sylvanas fell to the ground and landed in a crouch in the snow. Looking up, the woman watched the blond manage a flip off of the tree before landing in the snow, some old bandages wrapped around his hands and forearms, as he couldn't afford any gloves._

"_You know… if I wanted too, I could've probably gutted you when you tried that lunge… the High-Ground is all well and good… but that's only when you have a bow and arrow, not a knife." Naruto recited and a slight smile crossed Sylvanas' lips before crouching down low, the cold not affecting her in the least._

"_Your learning…" She noted with a nod before lunging forward and swinging one of her intricate knives at the blond, the boy leaning back to avoid it with wide eyes. Moving quickly the blond then rolled to the side as she swung her other knife and lunged at her himself. However, Sylvanas then folded one of the knives and quickly dug it into the ground, then leaned back and used her now free hand to grab the back of the blonds collar and lift him off of the ground with a shake of her head. "And what else have I told you?" The woman then questioned with an arched brow and Naruto grinned nervously for a moment._

"_Not to let someone bigger and stronger get leverage on you?" He offered and she nodded her head mutely, and then tossed him back into the snow, the blond grunting as he landed back first, then glared up at the now very amused look on the woman's face. "You like doing this to me, don't you?" The youth questioned flatly and Sylvanas offered a chuckle, before motioning for him to come at her again as she kicked her knife into the air, then caught and flipped it back into it's unfolded position. Grumbling under his breath and rolling onto his hands and knees, the blond then had an idea and threw some snow and dirt towards the Banshee Queen._

_Raising a brow, the woman raised her cloak to block the snow, then twitched as some of the dirt managed to get in her eyes. Closing her eyes so as not to do anymore damage to them, the woman then jumped back as Naruto tried to cut into her again. "That might've worked, if I were alive enough to feel pain." Sylvanas noted before reaching into her pouch and produced a canteen of water, something she had only recently taken to carrying, and used it to clean out her eyes. Blinking the water away, Sylvanas noticed that Naruto was gone and frowned for only a moment before rolling her eyes as he jumped at her from behind._

_Silently sidestepping the blond and allowing him to gain a face full of snow and dirt, the woman then shook her head. "Interesting approach, and you managed to climb the tree faster this time." She noted aloud while Naruto rolled onto his back and threw one of the knives at the woman with deadly precision. Quickly moving out of the way while the knife still managed to cut into her tattered cloak, Sylvanas saw the knife imbed itself into a tree and arched a brow. However she then moved out of the way as Naruto came at her with his sole-remaining knife, only was holding it in a backwards grip in his left hand and using it far better than he had been._

'Ahh, so he's ambidextrous as well…' _The blond haired forsaken woman thought to herself while evading the first swing from the blond haired youth as he used the backhanded grip with surprising skill. Backing up as the child swung at her time and time again, Sylvanas then lashed out, grabbing his arm and flipping him onto his back. The blond shouted in pain before looking up to the woman's face as she placed a hand onto her hip and tilted her head to one side._

"_Do you really have to try and hurt me?" The youth questioned pitifully as he looked at her and she nodded her head._

"_Others will try and hurt you more than I, some may even disguise themselves as me to hurt you." The blond Forsaken replied before reaching to the side and yanking the knife Naruto had managed to embed in the tree out. "You are very strong for your age… this would have ripped straight through my chest if I hadn't moved. Of course my skin and body are partially rotten so that's not too surprising." The Banshee Queen noted aloud while fingering the knife and saw a horrified look cross the blond's face._

"_R-Really! But I didn't want to hurt you… I…" He started to say but Sylvanas shook her head with a slight ghost of a smile on her lips._

"_Be calm, all is well, Little Naruto. I could carve out my heart right now, right in front of you, and still feel no pain." Sylvanas replied and yet that only seemed to make the blond haired youth feel even worse than he had before._

"_That's no reason for me to…" He started to say before taking a breath while Sylvanas arched a brow and then patted his head._

"_It's alright, I would be worried if you didn't fight back when someone attacks you, Little Naruto." She replied and Naruto looked to the side and let out a slight breath. "But from what I can tell of your skills right now, it seems that you are inclined towards the Assassin Class." Sylvanas then noted while sitting down next to the blond who looked to her with a raised brow._

"_Really?" He asked with genuine enterest and the woman nodded her head for a moment before thinking about how he held his knife._

"_Yes, and you also have an oddity, when you use those blades, you hold the left one in a back-handed grip and focus on swinging and guarding with it…" Sylvanas noted and then looked to one of her own knives and tossed it over to the blond, Naruto yelping as he reached out to catch it._

"_What's this for?" Naruto questioned of the woman and Sylvanas crossed her legs while collapsing her own knife and sticking it into her pack._

"_It's a curved blade, its better for swinging, and it's also better at chopping. Practice swinging with it for a little while and see if you notice a difference." She explained to the blond and Naruto made an Oh with his mouth before holding it in his right hand and swinging it around for a moment, his other black in reverse in his left hand. "Like it?" She then asked and Naruto nodded with a grin._

"_You're right, it does feel a little better." Naruto noted more to himself than her and Sylvanas smiled for a moment._

"_Then you can have that one…" She offered and Naruto blinked for a moment before grinning as he tried to hold his new weapon in reverse, then frowned when he noticed it's shape didn't allow for it._

"_Weird design…" He noted and Sylvanas nodded her head in agreement with the blond haired youth._

"_Together they are known as Victoria and Gloria, or Victory and Glory. Yours is Victory, mine is Glory. These two knives are the only kind made like this in existence, so I expect you to take care of that." She noted while pointing to the knife and Naruto nodded his head enthusiastically before collapsing it and sticking it into his pocket. Seeing him do this, Sylvanas then looked to the sky for a moment, watching as the snow continued to fall silently. "And I was being serious, you do have a knack for the Assassin class, stealth and misdirection are their thing after all…" Sylvanas noted while glancing over at the blond haired youth, Naruto blinking for a moment before rubbing the back of his neck._

"_Well, they have a Shinobi Academy in Konoha… and that sounds sort of similar to them…" Naruto mused aloud, Sylvanas arching a brow for a moment before looking up into the sky while the blond crossed his arms behind his head. "Hey, Sylvanas-Hime, do you think I'd be a good Shinobi?" The blond questioned of the forsaken woman and she blinked for only a moment before smirking slightly._

"_I believe, you can do many great things, if you put your mind too it and focus." The Dark Lady replied and didn't see a look cross the young blond's face as he looked to the sky alongside her…_

(Goblin Sewers…)

"Master, master!" Gnarl called out, causing the blond haired youth to come out of his memories and blink while seeming to stare into space. Looking around for a moment, the blond then looked down to see Gnarl, Doc, and Giblet staring up at him with expectant looks.

"Uh… you say something, Gnarl?" Naruto questioned of the aging Minion Master with a slight grin. Frowning for only a moment, Gnarl then nodded his head, and turned around as he continued to make his way through the goblins' sewers.

"Yes, Sire. I was saying that we need to find a place where we can plan out our next move. If I know greedy Goblins sire, and I do, then those two tall twits won't allow us to just show-up and take their power from them. Not to mention their gold…" The aging Minion-Master explained to the blond while Naruto nodded his head, seeing why they might need to plan out there next move. _'I may not be a genius, but I'm smart enough to know we're outnumbered and outgunned here…_' Naruto thought to himself while following behind the old minion master.

"Sire, me think me hear squeakies!" Giblet noted aloud, Naruto figuring he meant more Mutant rats, thus frowned to himself while reaching to his left forearm with a frown. _'This keeps up I'll have to let Victoria out to play…'_ He noted to himself with a frown, as given how valuable the weapon likely was one half of a two of a kind set, he had never truly intended to use it in an actual fight. He had instead had his Jiji or the Sandaime Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen seal it, and some other items, into his forearm.

"Stay cautious, Sire. Until we bond you to the Overlord-Heart you can die like any other ordinary mortal…" Gnarl warned as they continued on, Naruto nodding his head before raising a brow as they approached a doorway. "Aha, this should be secluded enough." The Minion-Master decided while hobbling over to the doorway and turning a crank on the front. Grunting with exertion as he tried to pull the door open, the aging Minion-Master then motioned for Giblet to help him. Running over, the younger Minion showed his surprising level of strength as he pried the door open and nearly ripped it off of its hinges.

"Whoa! I didn't know Giblet was _**that**_ strong!" Naruto said with surprise and Gnarl grunted for a moment while Giblet grinned nervously.

"Sorry, Gnarl." The Brown Minion offered while rubbing the back of his neck and Gnarl rolled his eyes before turning to Naruto.

"Giblet is the leader of the Brown Minion Tribe, sire. As leader he is the most able-bodied of the browns, he is also one of the most intelligent and is overall considered the best of the primary browns." Gnarl explained with a finger in the air and then motioned for Naruto to enter into the room he'd opened. Walking inside, Naruto looked around for a moment before sitting down as Gnarl and Giblet pushed the door closed, Doc hopping inside at the last second. "Yes, this will do nicely." Gnarl said mostly to himself before walking over to stand before Naruto.

"So what's the plan, Gnarl?" Naruto asked while Gnarl started to pace the floor, Giblet looking around the room while Doc sat off to the side.

"Well, since our allies are currently our enemies, the most prudent thing to do would be to seek out the Orcs then return and conquer the Goblins." Gnarl mused aloud while stroking his Goatee and Naruto blinked for a moment before frowning to himself.

"Wouldn't that take a while?" The blond haired Overlord questioned of the Minion-Master, Gnarl stopping to nod his head with a frown.

"Yes, but you're not trained or strong enough to fight all the Goblins down here the old fashioned way." Gnarl replied with a pointed look, Naruto inclining his head and mostly deciding the old Minion-Master knew what he was doing and that he shouldn't try and question him anymore. "As such, I believe we should wait for the Goblins to go to sleep, then slip through the sewers and leave through one of the other tunnels to gather the Orcs. Unlike Goblins, the Orcs are much more loyal and take personal honor very seriously." Gnarl explained while nodding his head, then saw Giblet over by a lever and widened his eyes.

"Giblet don't!" He shouted just as Giblet pulled the lever, Naruto cursing as he fell down a trap door and into a lower, darker, section of the sewers. "Giblet!" Gnarl snarled and the brown leader widened his eyes before sidling away from the lever. Growling low in his throat, Gnarl knelt down and looked down into the darkness below with wide eyes. "Master! Are you alive?" Gnarl questioned loudly, then heard a loud groan from down below as Naruto pushed himself up and rubbed his head.

"Yeah and I'm seriously hoping this doesn't become a habit, Gnarl…" Naruto declared and Gnarl couldn't help but agree with the young Overlord before looking around for a moment and then walked over to where Doc was looking down into the pit.

"Don't worry, Sire! I'm sending Doc down to check on you!" Gnarl declared and before Doc could turn to question him, Gnarl had kicked him into the pit. Falling with a cry, the younger grey Minion fell into the darkness; landing with a low groan while Gnarl gave a slight snicker. "Master, can you see anything down there?" Gnarl questioned of the young Overlord and Naruto looked around the darkness with a frown.

"Give me a second…" Naruto muttered under his breath before holding up one of his hands and produced a muted yellow glow. Looking around, Naruto frowned seeing bones covering the floor, Doc yelling in fright before jumping onto the young Overlord's back and hanging on for dear life. Grunting for only a moment, Naruto then frowned before looking up to where Gnarl was waiting over them. "It looks like some kind of dungeon or something, there's a bunch of bones down here." Naruto shouted up to the old Minion-Master and Gnarl frowned to himself.

"Try and find a way out of there, Sire. Giblet and I will…" Gnarl started to say before Naruto frowned upon hearing a loud bang from above. "Blast it all! Cancel that, Sire. It looks like you might be on your own!" Gnarl exclaimed while a bang louder than all the others echoed into the pit. "Giblet, close that trapdoor now! Don't let them find the master!" Gnarl declared loudly while the trapdoor over them quickly sealed shut as the sounds of a struggle became muted. Blinking for a moment, Naruto then widened his eyes and looked all around for a way out of the pit he'd found himself in. Spotting a doorway to the side, the blond haired youth quickly made his way over to it, stopping for only a moment while Doc hung onto him tightly.

"Gnarl… Giblet… be safe." The blond whispered quietly before opening the doorway and running into a long bone covered corridor…

(Elsewhere…)

The man known only as The Betrayer grunted while forming out of the portal of fire in an area far removed from those of The Overlord. _'Tamriel is always lovely this time of year…'_ He inwardly mused while walking into a vast forest with a scowl on under the mask he'd worn since he was Overlord himself. The mask served a double purpose, it let no one see what he looked like, and it kept his true voice from being heard. Much like that of a normal Overlord yes, but with him it was for a far different reason than mere safety. Looking around the forest for a moment, The Betrayer, narrowed his eyes and crouched low to the ground.

Ahead of him a unicorn was grazing, these creatures once existed in the lands of The Overlord, but over-extensive Hunting had killed them all out years ago… he should know, he'd been the one hunting them. _'This new Overlord is strange, the wounds I gave him should've done him in, yet he survived and Gnarl and Giblet managed to get away with him… either there is more to him than merely the Overlords Bloodline, or I've grown far weaker than I originally believed. Given how ordinary he seemed, as far as Overlords go, I'm leaning more towards the latter.'_ The Betrayer inwardly decided while narrowing his eyes onto the unicorn dangerously, his hollow white eyes glowing ominously in the dim light of the forest.

'_**Luckily, I know a remedy for my weakened state!'**_ The betrayer inwardly declared while pulling his Ax from his back and quickly lunged forward. The Unicorn was only able to turn its head when he sank his blade into the back of its neck and severed its spine. Ripping the weapon out and watching the beast fall, The Betrayer then got down and carved out a portion of The Unicorns flesh. Reaching into a pack at the side of his waist, the Betrayer then chopped the now dead unicorns horn from its head, which he then placed into his pack. A unicorn's horn was especially hard, it was also very valuable to certain buyers, and while he was already rich, The Betrayer also knew of some people who would join him for the horn.

'_**While it's very toxic, Unicorn blood offers many unique properties, namely, it can grant immortality. However, actually drinking the blood is more like taking a poison that literally rots the body from the inside while keeping the soul alive…'**_ The Betrayer noted mostly to himself before reaching up and ripping his mask from his face… revealing horrid black rotted flesh beneath it, his eyes replaced by a pair of hellfire red glowing orbs. _**'And while there is no cure for this retched fate, one can gain a pseudo immortality with it by taking more blood and even eating a unicorns flesh to stave off death.'**_ The Betrayer continued before leaning down and biting into its neck and drinking of the blood of the unicorn, his eyes turning a bright burning red as he did so.

Groaning lowly, The Betrayer or rather the "Lich" as he truly was, then opened his maw once more before taking a bite out of the unicorn's body, then ripped the meat back. Chewing it for a moment, what remained of the Hero who had once been Overlord swallowed the meat and unleashed his claws on the unicorns flesh. Biting and snapping his jaws down the monster that had once been a man continued to devour its flesh and blood, carving deep gouges from its flesh before licking up the blood, all in order to sustain his immortality. Stopping his feast for a second, The Betrayer then took several breaths while cracking his neck with a frown.

'_**As a mortal man, I'd never have lived this long… but as a Lich, I'll live nearly forever.'**_ The horrid creature thought to itself while wiping its mouth with one arm and then using its ax to chop up some more of the unicorn, pausing only for a moment as he contemplated what he'd become. **"It's amazing what some people will give up in their quest for power. They're Family, Their Friends, Their Lover, and even Their Humanity, all in search of Power. But, one must also suffer a little as well, at least if one wants to become truly all-powerful, for only in that personal hell and suffering do we truly appreciate the power we gain. "** The Betrayer noted to himself as he licked some of the blood from his gnarled teeth, having not only betrayed the title of Overlord, but also his very humanity in his quest to regain the power and title of Overlord…

(Goblin Sewers…)

Gnarl growled as he and Giblet were shoved forward by several burly goblin Guards in heavy looking armor. The armor is black and spiky, with a heavy face-covering helmet with large horns at the sides, and a large black broadsword in hand. _'I hate Heavy Goblin Warriors, they're always the most tedious to fight…'_ Gnarl thought to himself as this particular branch of Goblin Warrior was almost annoyingly hard to deal with. _'Not to mention Giblet only had a club with him…'_ The aged Minion-Master thought to himself as they'd been sorely outmatched when they fought against the Heavy-Warriors. Not to say they didn't do well for an old minion and a brown, but they really didn't do too well.

Grunting as he was shoved forward once more, Gnarl frowned as he and Giblet were pushed into a throne-room. "Huh, hey what are you guys doing here?" One of the two Goblin Chiefs from before, the purple one, questioned while raising a brow, the red one sitting in a plush seat and eating something. Frowning, Gnarl glanced around the room with his single eye, noticing how nice the room looked, then mentally scowled upon seeing a large open room to the side with an enormous pile of gold, the Overlord-Heart nearby. _'Bloody greedy Goblins, how dare they steal the Heart!'_ Gnarl inwardly seethed before glaring at the two Goblins furiously.

"We found these two running around the sewers near one of the drainage ducts to the dungeons." One of the Heavy-Goblins replied in a "Brutish" sounding voice while the Purple and Red chiefs looked to one another for a moment before Purple waved the Heavy warriors away.

"Okay, that's all, we'll take it from here." Purple declared and the guards bowed slightly before marching away, Gnarl scowling deeply.

"So you two are the ones in charge…" Gnarl grumbled out and the Red Chief sat up with a slight grin across his face.

"Indeed we are! And it's such a cushy gig too!" The red-eyed Goblin declared while Giblet growled lowly, Gnarl crossing his arms with a scowl on his face.

"I hope you realize our master will not be at all pleased when he finds out you're holding The Heart and keeping him from it…" Gnarl warned darkly and Red waved that off, Purple looking nervous for a moment before grinning.

"Aw what do we care, everyone knows that there's no Overlord anymore!" The Purple eyed Goblin declared with a nod of his head and Gnarl twitched. The old Minion-Master then started to snicker to himself, Giblet grinning as the old Minion did. Soon regaining control of himself, Gnarl grinned widely towards the two, both Chiefs looking at him strangely.

"Oh you fools are certainly in for a surprise then! Our master has indeed returned, a New Overlord has been chosen, and you will feel the full weight of his boots on your sorry skulls once he and the Orcs come for the Heart!" Gnarl declared with a grin and mentally smirked at the fearful that crossed Purples face. However unlike Purple, Red merely crossed his arms and gave an amused smirk to the aged Minion Master.

"Is that so? Do you honestly think we'd be dumb enough to let someone get to the Orcs? The only people we let do that are the merchants who bring us more gold and food." Red responded with a wave of one hand, uncaring of the fate of the masses of poor goblins running the streets. Back when he and Purple were younger, they had found the "Heart" while toiling in the mines for the previous chief, a dick named Spork. After finding proof of the Overlord, and weaseling their way into power via some help from the Drow, Red and Purple had taken all they could, feeling only they deserved it for having nothing before… in truth they just wanted more gold and power, and didn't care who they had to step on to get it… just like Spork before them.

"It doesn't matter! The Master will find a way and you Goblin fools will pay for your insolence!" Gnarl declared with a snarl, Red rolling his eyes once more before snapping his finger, a female Goblin-Warrior walking into the room.

"Take these two and put them with the others." Red ordered boredly while the female nodded her head. She then walked over to Gnarl and Giblet, grabbed them by their arms and all but dragged them out of the room. As soon as they were gone, a worried look crossed Purples face as he looked to his partner in crime.

"What if that old Minion was right? What if the Overlord does come to stomp on our heads? I don't think my head could take it…" Purple asked then noted to himself worriedly and Red rolled his eyes for a moment while leaning back in his seat and lacing his fingers together.

"That's what guards are for, besides, we have his Brown Hive remember, I'm sure even an Overlord can be taken down without his army of followers to help him. And so long as The Drow don't learn about a New Overlord coming into power we'll be fine…" Red replied with a wave of his hand, though shuddered at the thought of what The Drow would do to them if they ever got wind of this. The Drow were fanatically loyal to the Overlord, rather, The Dark Overseer, and would probably gut them, skin them, and hang them with their entrails if they learned of this… However not knowing of Red's thoughts, Purple blinked for a moment before slowly nodding his head in understanding.

"Oh yeah… we do don't we." Purple responded quietly then grinned as he grabbed a leg of meat and took a bite out of it. "And besides, with all the guards we have stationed around here, who could possibly manage to break in!" Purple then decided while Red nodded his head in agreement, then grabbed some fruit and started to munch on it while trying not to think of what The Drow might do to them if they ever found out what he and Purple were doing. _'I'm going to increase patrols at the exit tunnels leading out to the Orcs and Drow, I don't want to have to deal with either of them anytime soon…'_ Red inwardly decided while Purple continued to eat nearby…

Elsewhere, Gnarl and Giblet glared up at the female Goblin as she led them to into a room in the back. "Gnarl!" Four excited cries came and the aged Minion-Master and Brown Tribe Leader both looked to see four familiar faces. In all actuality each of them looked identical to Giblet, save for one that was missing an eye and looked like part of the flesh on its head had been burned away to show some of its skull.

"Gubben! Goby! Grubber! Moldy!" Gnarl exclaimed loudly, Giblet grinning widely as he ran into the cell as the female Goblin opened it for him.

"Giblet!" The four browns declared happily before three of them commenced to dog piling on top of their tribe-leader, the sole standing of the browns now palming his face as they did.

"Goby! What the bloody hell are you four doing here?" Gnarl demanded while walking into the cell as well, seeing no point in being killed when they were completely surrounded on all sides by enemies. Blinking for only a moment, Goby then let out a breath as he hung his head and rubbed his face.

"We's was looking for Heart. Gobies catch us snooping and find Hive. We's been trapped here since." Goby replied and Gnarl rubbed his chin with a frown, the female guard slamming the gate to their cell behind him. Looking around, Gnarl groaned upon seeing a cell to the side where The Brown Hive was resting.

"This is just bloody brilliant, not only have we been captured, so has the Brown Hive, and our master is alone with only Doc to help him!" Gnarl complained angrily, the guard hanging back to listen in on what the aged Minion-Master had to say.

"Wa… you's mean we's has new master?" Goby questioned excitedly, each of the "Three Stooges" looking to Gnarl as well when he did. Giblet however grinned widely while sitting up.

"Yeah! We's finally has a new Master!" Giblet declared happily and the other browns whooped with joy, save for Goby who started to plan out how he was going to torment the Goblins that had been holding him and the others…

"New Master, eh? What's that supposed to mean?" The female Goblin suddenly questioned from the gate to their cell, a strange British sounding accent to her voice, all the minions nearly jumping out of their skins before turning to look at her. "From what has been said, The Overlord is the "master" of The Dark-Sanctuary, so who's this new Master supposed to be?" The Goblin questioned and Gnarl frowned for a moment, before raising a brow when he noticed how much taller than an average female Goblin was.

She was, oddly enough, visibly taller than Naruto by an inch or so, with a pale green complexion to her smooth skin, from what Gnarl could tell her nose was somewhat pointed like all goblins, her face however seemed softer than normal and oddly more human than that of a normal Goblin female from what he could make out through her mask, her fingers also seemed a little less gnarled and spindly than the other Goblins, with long sharp claws at the ends of them, her physique was also less gangly and she seemed to be fairly young given she wasn't as developed as other female Goblins of an older age, her own ears were long as normal for a Goblin and slanted back, three gold hoops in the cartilage of her right ear, and another one in her left earlobe.

She wears a long segmented purple leather dress with slits at her hips, the back of the dress seeming to take on a shape similar to a waist coat, a black collar extends upwards from her shirt and is closed into the form of a face mask, a brown leather harness stationed around her shoulders with a metal plate on her back and black plates over her shoulders, a black leather loincloth with two black garters around each thigh, a black belt around her waist with a pouch at her right hip, knee length black combat boots with buckles down the front and metal caps over his toes, black bandages around her hands / forearms, black bangles over her biceps, and a black spiky helmet that covers her head and shadows her eyes while leaving some of her purple hair visible under it.

Frowning to himself, Gnarl sniffed at the air discretely before narrowing his eyes onto the female. _'She's a half-breed, but it's half what I can't tell… it's not Naga or Lizard-folk, since she'd have scales, it's not Drow since she's too pale for that, so it's either Human or Orc…'_ Gnarl inwardly decided before growling lowly as he glared up at the female. "Our new Master _**is**_ The Overlord wench! Those two liars up there have been spreading lies about working for him in order to amass wealth and power!" Gnarl shouted at her and she reached up and rubbed her chin with a slight frown under her mask.

"Really now… that's very interesting." The female noted mostly to herself while rubbing her chin with an upward glance. "From what the chiefs have been saying, The Overlord is working on conquering Shadow-Mountain and the human lands…" The female noted while leaning back into the gate and Gnarl grunted with a low growl.

"We didn't find the new Overlord till a night ago, he was almost killed and we barely managed to retrieve him in time. Your "chiefs" have stolen the Overlord Heart, a symbol of status to the Overlord with the ability to teleport him all around the lands. Not to mention The Brown Hive, where some of the Overlords Servants are born." Gnarl replied with a scowl, leaving out Naruto's age as well as the other abilities of the Overlord Heart as he didn't want the female to know. Raising a brow at the explanation, the female hummed lightly before looking around and narrowed her eyes.

"So then, I suppose your Overlord will undoubtedly come to rescue you then?" The female questioned while looking at Gnarl, the aging Minion-Master frowning for a moment before slowly nodding his head. "And I suppose that he'll be needing help if he wants to retrieve your Heart and Hive…" The female continued and Gnarl scowled deeply while leaning into the bars to glare at her.

"What exactly are you getting at?" Gnarl questioned of the female and she turned slightly with a sly look hidden beneath her mask.

"Oh nothing at all… save that perhaps a certain Half-Breed may be interested in escaping her lot with the Goblins… Mating season is getting close, and I'm sure she doesn't want to be little more than a baby-maker for them when she comes of age… not to mention she has certain friends who might be willing to help with disposing of those annoying chiefs for the Overlord." The female noted casually while buffing her knuckles on her shirt, a grin slowly spreading across Gnarl's features.

"Oh really… do tell." Gnarl urged of the female and she turned to look at him, a devious look in her eyes…

(With Naruto…)

The Blond haired Overlord found himself marching through the new tunnels he'd lost himself in. "I really hate tunnels and sewers…" The blond suddenly declared and Doc merely shrugged his shoulders, having lived in far worse condition during his time as The Overlord's Jester he didn't really mind the sewers. Sighing lightly, Naruto then crossed his arms behind his head as they continued to travel. However the youth then raised a brow when he heard several strange sounds and saw flashing lights ahead. Slowing down, the blond then crouched down as he made his way through the tunnel before stopping and crouching behind a large rock with Doc at his side.

Maneuvering around to peer out from behind the boulder, Naruto raised a brow when he saw two sphere shaped balls of light floating before him, one red and one purple, bashing into one another before shooting to either side. One of them was shooting off purple blobs that steamed when they hit the rock around them, slowly eating it away after they hit. The red one was spinning and darting about flames trailing behind it before it shot a fireball at the other creature. Both seemed to relentlessly attack the other, giving neither any quarter in their battle. "What the hell?" Naruto questioned while Doc visibly grimaced and took a slight step back.

"Unseelie sire! One of Fire and one of Poison!" Doc declared and Naruto raised a brow before looking down to the semi-old Minion with confusion written across his face.

"Unseelie huh… Gnarl mentioned them being descended from Faeries, but what do you mean one of Fire and one of Poison?" Naruto questioned of Doc and saw the little Minion groan lightly to himself. Doc realized that Gnarl had probably not gone into the specifics of some of the races more obscure sub-species, like the "Dryder" from the Drow, "Gilgoblins" and "Hobgoblins" from the Goblins and such, but he'd at least believed that he'd have explained about the Unseelie subspecies to the blond!

"Plainly put Sire, like faeries who are split into multiple subspecies, Fire, Poison, Darkness, Water, Wood, Wind, and Magic. The different subspecies are scattered across the Dark-Sanctuary Sire, and they are best known for their constant bickering and wars." Doc supplied while having only a basic knowledge of the species, since he wasn't required to know more, he had listened to Gnarl over the years and learned a fair bit about the many different species of the world.

"Oh. So wait, why are Wood and Water aligned with the Unseelie? I thought they were more "Light" sided elements, and I thought Magic was Neutral." Naruto questioned and saw a grimace cross Doc's features before he shivered violently.

"Did you know that the majority of your body is made up of water, Sire?" Doc questioned and Naruto shook his head, then watched the physician shiver once more. "Well it is… and "Water" or rather, "Blood Unseelie" control the water of the body and use it to murder you in the most horrific manner possible! But thankfully Blood Unseelie are typically closest to the Drow due to their own cruel sadistic nature." Doc replied and Naruto shuddered violently, wondering what horrible things those little devils could do with powers like that. "But as for Wood and Magic, they were originally normal Faeries sire, they've just evolved into a more violent form, thus so has their magic." Doc finished and Naruto nodded his head slowly before looking to the Unseelie as they fought.

"Then are we close to the Fire and Poison Unseelie?" Naruto questioned and Doc nodded his head quickly.

"From what I've heard from Giblet and Gnarl, Poison Unseelie are at the border closer to the Naga, while Fire Unseelie live here, essentially, the Poison Unseelie are trying to force their way here to destroy the Fire Unseelie, and take control of their territory. However, the Goblins need the Fire-Unseelie in order to use their forges, so this would be bad for us at the moment. On the other hand, Poison Unseelie are known to become rather… addicted, to an Abyss Dragon, such as yourself." Doc replied and Naruto raised an eyebrow at that, and then looked to where the two Unseelie seemed to be ignoring them as they killed one another.

"Why would they become addicted to me?" Naruto questioned and Doc clicked his tongue while crossing his arms with a thoughtful frown. While Gnarl was used to this, Doc was ready to admit he wasn't built to explain such things on the fly, he was a more get it done right in one go, rather than just try and finish it quickly then make mention of things he forgot latter on. However this was technically in his department as he was now the Overlords Head Physician, meaning besides his health, Doc would also have to explain several other things to him eventually, such as "Mating" and the lesser known nuances of being a DragonKin, when he finally hit puberty.

"When an Unseelie binds itself to a person of a Dark-Disposition, they become that persons Familiar. Now this means that the creature follows you and eats off of your mana or some other energy in order to survive. Unseelie have a rather extreme chance of becoming addicted to their "Master" as it were if they are closely aligned to his or her Mana. This means that Poison and Darkness Unseelie will be especially weak towards you Sire, because they are closely aligned to your species Mana." Doc explained to the blond haired youth, being able to "Dumb it down" in order to help the blond as he'd noticed how he seemed to struggle with big words and the like.

"Oh okay, so then that just means it'll be easier to get the Poison Unseelie on my side, so we should protect the Fire Unseelie for the moment right?" Naruto questioned while looking to Doc and the grey reached a claw up to scratch at his head for a moment.

"Honestly sire, I'm a doctor not a bloody tactician, I'm not really sure what we should do in this situation, that's more… an Overlord's decision." The grey replied and Naruto looked at him incredulously for a moment before gulping. Watching the two Unseelie continued to attack one another, Naruto bit his lip as he tried to decide what he should do. _'On one hand, The Fire Unseelie live here, on the other, it'd be easier to get the Poison Unseelie on my side, and they could help me get Gnarl and Giblet back…but… but isn't it wrong to force the Fire Unseelie away? This is there home!'_ The blond haired youth thought to himself while closing his eyes.

"_**What does it matter whether or not it's wrong?"**_ A deep dark voice retorted and Naruto blinked for a moment before looking for its source. However he found no one other than Doc around, confusing him greatly when the voice returned. _**"Fire or Poison, either way you gain capable allies… does it really matter if it's wrong to force the Fire Unseelie out? Your to be the next Overlord, you must rule the kingdom, you must command armies, and you must be the one to bear the weight of those decisions."**_ The voice continued to say, and Naruto shook his head and looked up in time to see the Fire-Unseelie as it was hit by a burst of poison.

"Oh, to hell with it, the fire one is in trouble, so for now we'll help it!" Naruto decided with a grunt while lunging forward, grabbing the Fire-Unseelie out of the air and tossing a fireball at the poison Unseelie. The fireball made almost immediate contact with the Poison Unseelie was burnt to cinders within mere moments. Raising a brow at how simple that had been, Naruto then remembered that the Unseelie hadn't been built for combat, and they had, in fact, been nearly wiped out before they had retreated into the Dark-Sanctuary.

Idly, Naruto picked up the Unseelie's life force and absorbed it into his Overlord Gem; he then started to lightly drum his fingers on his bicep as he wondered just how much Life-Force he had collected by now. Shaking that errant thought off, Naruto looked to the tiny faerie in his hands, which had bright fiery red hair, orange-ish skin, and bright golden eyes with what looked like molten rock formed into armor, and widened his eyes seeing black veins forming on it.

"Doc!" Naruto shouted and the grey Minion rushed over, only to stop and widen his eyes upon seeing the Dark-Faerie. "Can you help her?" Naruto asked while looking at the Unseelie worriedly, hey, even if he was supposed to be an Evil Overlord, he was kind of new to the job…

"I'm afraid that Faeries are made of sentient Magic Sire, they have no physical wounds I could heal, a Blue could but I'm just a doctor…" Doc replied and Naruto looked to the Unseelie sadly as it turned its bright golden yellow eyes up to look at him.

"Invaders…" She whispered and Naruto shook his head.

"No, I'm Naru… er… I mean I'm The Overlord, I wanted to help you." The blond replied and the Dark-Faerie seemed to perk up a bit at the word "Overlord" for some reason, though Naruto attributed it to his ancestors.

"Overlord… protect queen… save queen… kill intruders… kill… kill… kill…" The Dark Faerie managed to groan out, before blowing a golden dust at him, causing the blond to wave a hand while the Faerie then faded into specks of flame.

"What was that, Doc?" Naruto questioned of the physician and Doc frowned before snapping his fingers.

"It's probably some way for Unseelie to mark outsiders as friends sire, otherwise they would attack us as well." Doc replied and Naruto blinked for a moment before rising up to his feet and turned when he heard several explosions. "Seems we're very close to the Unseelie war-zone, sire, we had best move before they destroy one another!" Doc suggested and Naruto nodded his head only once before running down the tunnels with the physician at his side…

(Konoha…)

Iruka trudged into the Konohagakure Shinobi-Academy, however the normally chipper school teacher looked like hell. The Sandaime had briefed him on the fate of one Uzumaki Naruto the night before, and now he would have to announce the death of the blond haired Jinchuuriki to his classmates. _'And what's worse is that we don't know who did it…'_ Iruka added mentally as there was any number of Shinobi Villages that would jump at the chance to take out a Jinchuuriki. However the problem was figuring out which village had had this information, as even though it was well known in Konoha, the Sandaime had made it a priority to protect that information from those who were outside of the village.

Sighing tiredly, Iruka palmed his face lightly while making his way into the classroom, twitching when he heard the ruckus that the students were making. Resisting the urge to swear loudly, the schoolteacher walked over to his desk and slumped into his seat. Letting out a breath, the man then looked to his class and saw them all staring at him strangely. He supposed that wasn't too unusual given how he normally wasn't this tired when he came into class, but he had at least thought they knew he was human. Letting out a breath through his nose Iruka then say forward and closed his eyes, trying to think of how he'd break the news to his class.

"Attention everyone…" He started and then twitched upon realizing they were all ignoring him and thus slammed his hands down and uses his infamous "Big-Head-No-Jutsu". "QUIET DOWN ALREADY!" He shouted loudly and the class was all but instantly silent, the daily ritual complete and a semi-feeling of normalcy returned the Schoolteacher then let out a tired sigh. "I… it seems…" Iruka started to say only to stop as he tried to come up with the right words for the situation. It was at this time that one Haruno Sakura looked to the side and noticed that someone was missing.

"Iruka-Sensei, is Naruto out sick today? Or is he on out doing one of his silly pranks again?" Sakura questioned of the teacher and Iruka reached up and rubbed his face tiredly. _'I only wish he were out pulling a prank on us…'_ Iruka thought to himself before fidgeting for a moment more and letting out a sigh.

"No Sakura, he's not pulling a prank, and he's not out sick." Iruka stated bluntly and then took a deep breath before continuing. "Class, it seems that the night before last an unknown assailant infiltrated the village, after doing so it seems he looked for and then… attacked Naruto in his home." Iruka explained and Uchiha Sasuke frowned before leaning forward.

"Why would someone attack the dobe?" The dark haired youth questioned and Iruka shook his head with a slight shrug.

"As of yet, there has been no motives found for why he was attacked… however, what is known as that Naruto put up some kind of fight, albeit it seems one-sided, and that, he was killed by the assailant. The investigations are still going on to see how and why, but thus far, it seems he was caught in the building that caught on fire and his assailant was either caught with him, or somehow managed to escape the scene." The brown haired man explained before leaning back in his seat, the students oddly silent as the man then took a deep breath through his nose and exhaled.

"Sensei?" Sakura asked seeing tears welling in the man's eyes as he then looked back at his students.

"Finally, the Hokage Himself will be funding and hosting a funeral for Naruto this weekend." The brown haired man explained to the class and then turned his seat so he could grieve for a moment longer. "That is all… converse amongst yourselves for a moment, class will begin as usual after a brief recess." Iruka then said while letting out a breath and trying to calm himself down a little, though he somewhat doubted he'd be able too while the students started to speak to one another about the disturbing news. Among all of them, the most shocked seemed to be Sakura herself, while Sasuke was scowling deeply and narrowing his eyes.

'_Why would someone sneak into the village, kill the Dobe, then leave? It doesn't make any sense… something is going on here.'_ Sasuke mentally decided while lacing his fingers together and contemplating the possibilities of what was going on. Meanwhile Sakura merely gaped and stared towards where Iruka was sitting, a disbelieving look on her face.

'_Naruto's… dead?'_ She mentally questioned and then rapidly shook her head while looking to the empty seat in class. _'But, he was just here a few days ago, how can he be gone?'_ The pink haired girl wondered to herself while looking to the empty seat and Yamanaka Ino slipped from her seat and touched the girl's shoulder. "Sakura?" She questioned and the pinkette yelped before looking to her and blushing embarrassedly. "Are you okay?" Ino questioned of her worriedly and Sakura quickly shook her head and shrugged the other girl's hand from her shoulder.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be okay Ino-Pig?" Sakura retorted and looked away while Ino looked at her for a moment. "I mean, its just annoying old Naruto… who cares if he's gone." Sakura then said with a shrug, seemingly unaware of the crack in her voice and the tears forming in her eyes… "Just means I don't have to worry about him asking me out or bugging me all the time anymore." She then stated with a slight crack and Ino merely looked at her for a moment before mentally sighing.

"Yeah, whatever you say Sakura… whatever you say." Ino responded while returning to her seat, then grimaced upon seeing a strange look on one Hyuuga Hinata's face. _'Sakura's taking it bad, Hinata is far, far worse…'_ Ino thought to herself and then saw the scowl on Sasuke's face and wondered what the dark haired boy was thinking about that was making him so angry…

TBC…

Important Characters:

Humans: ?

Minions:

Greys:

Gnarl, Minion-Master.

Doc, Physician.

Browns:

Giblet, Forge Master.

Goby, Captain of The Guard.

Grubber / Grubby, Three Stooges 1 / Digger.

Gubben, Three Stooges 2.

Moldy, Three Stooges 3.


	5. Goblins Pt2

**Disclaimer**: I own anything within; this story is merely a way for me to alleviate boredom…

[Giblet: And we're back!

Gnarl: Giblet!

Lord Pain: Jeez Gnarl, lay off Giblet already…

Gnarl: But he continues to insist on…

Lord Pain: Does it really matter or do you just want to yell at him?

Gnarl: Oh… right…

Doc: Well I think we need a new Jester for Gnarl to take his aggressions out on.

Browns: Oooh ooh yeah! New Jester!

Gnarl: Indeed! We need a new Jester post haste!

Lord Pain: (Grunts) Just start the fic…

Gnarl: As you command, Sire!]

_**NU**_: _**Dark Lord**_ +

_**Chapter 4**_: _**Goblins Pt. 2**_…

"Normal Speech"…

'_Normal Thoughts_'…

[Radio/Tower Heart In Use]…

"**Jutsu In Use**"…

"**Demon Speech**"…

'_**Demon Thoughts**_'…

"_**Inner Spirit Speech**_"…

(Goblin Sewers…)

Naruto growled as he slammed a fist down onto a Mutant Rat and cracked his neck with a frown. _'How many of these damn rats are there down here?_' Naruto wondered with a scowl, also wondering why the damn rats were constantly attacking him. "Doc are Mutant rats attracted to me or something?" Naruto questioned of the physician and Doc scratched his chin for a moment before shaking his head.

"Mutant Rats eat almost anything, Sire." Doc replied and Naruto frowned for a moment before letting out a sigh while crossing his arms behind his head. Walking down the many tunnels of the Goblin-Sewers, Naruto wondered if there was some way to get the Mutant-Rats to stop attacking them. However he shook this question off and slowed down, as the noises of the Unseelie fighting suddenly got louder. Frowning to himself as he approached, Naruto then felt his eyes bolt wide open as he entered into a large room with dozens of Unseelie flying around. He also noticed a small "Pond" of water to the side and small holes in the walls of the room that the Flame-Unseelie were flying out of.

"Wow…" The blond noted and then raised a brow as several purple spheres of light shot towards him. Waving his hand, the blond watched as a wall of fire formed before him, the attacking Unseelie burning to cinders before they could even think of turning, and the blond looked to Doc for an explanation.

"The magic you use with that Gauntlet on is only limited by your imagination, master. The spell work is woven into the Gauntlet, so if you can imagine it in your mind, then you can conjure it with the gauntlet!" Doc explained with a grin and Naruto looked at his Flame-Gauntlet for a moment. _'Only limited by my imagination, huh? So unlike with most Jutsu, I don't need to learn handseals or spells to do what I want… I'm starting to wonder why Shinobi use Justu, Magic seems a little better in a few ways, sure it's not as destructive at low levels, but it's easier to use.'_ The blond haired Overlord wondered to himself before forming a fireball into his hand.

"Does fire hurt Flame-Unseelie?" Naruto then questioned, Doc raising a brow for a moment before slowly shaking his head.

"No sire, it actually makes them a wee bit stronger…" He replied and Naruto tossed the fireball upwards where it stopped shy of the roof.

"Then lets end this pointless war…" Naruto declared while snapping his fingers, the ball of fire above them exploding and sending flaming embers down towards the many different faeries below. The Poison Unseelie were almost immediately incinerated, several of them retreating into a tunnel leading away. The Flame-Unseelie on the other hand started to glow hotter and hotter, producing stronger fireballs they shot after the retreating Unseelie. Naruto himself raised his hand while imagining a dome, a sphere of flames instantly forming around him and Doc for protection as the fireballs continued to rain down on them.

"Impressive use of Magic-Sire, it looks like a weaker fire based version of Plasma Rain. If you'd added a Lightning element to that fire-ball it would've been faster and done considerably more damage, of course even the Flame-Unseelie wouldn't be able to survive _**that**_ attack but I digress…" Doc noted mostly to himself, as the blond's grandmother was well known for her use of Plasma, and he felt a shiver at the thought as he'd actually been on the receiving end of said attack when she'd originally worked on making it. The blond Overlord however, merely blinked for a moment before rubbing the back of his neck with a nervous chuckle.

"Really? I uh… I just kind of wanted the flames to come down so everything but the Flame-Unseelie would leave…" Naruto admitted sheepishly, Doc looking at him in surprise before shaking his head. _'Oh master, you have so much left to learn, and I do hope your Naivety is the first thing to go. And who knows, if he has a Lightning affinity, maybe I could show him to use Plasma-Rain and Plasma-Bolt, the mistress used them enough on my hide after all…'_ Doc thought to himself with a sigh, though frowned when he remembered that Naruto might have to use it on him to get it right… which was something he really wanted to avoid…

As Doc considered this, Naruto looked around for a moment before raising his hand, the Life-Force of the dead Poison Unseelie quickly shooting into his gauntlet. Reaching to his wrist and adjusting his Overlord-Gem bracelet for a moment, the blond raised a brow when he finally saw his new set of claws. _'Wha…? Wait a minute, didn't Gnarl mention I would take on more dragonic features?'_ The Young Overlord tried to remember while looking at his claws, and then blinked when he heard a sound.

"Hey!" A strange "Small" voice shouted and Naruto blinked looked around for a moment and then took a step back as a ball of flames hovered in front of his face. "Who are you intruder? And why do you smell of my warriors?" The fireball questioned of him and the blond raised a brow in his hood before watching as the flames receded a short moment later to show one of the Flame-Unseelie.

The Unseelie looked like a normal human in basic shape, save being only eight inches tall, and that she has orange colored skin, and jade green insect like eyes with red markings like eye-shadow, black lips that weren't painted, and black horns overlapping her head from the sides till stopping at the base of her skull, her long vibrant red hair is also hanging free, while at the tips of her fingers and toes are sharp black claws, four dragon fly wings on her back with a flaming white, red, and orange color pattern shifting along their length, her body is covered by what resembles a two-piece bikini made of magma, with knee length black boots and bicep length black gloves that resemble and insects exoskeleton and left her fingers and toes bare, a strange crown of the same magma like material atop her head that resembled a sharp M over the majority her face.

Looking at her for a moment, Naruto found his eyes first drawn to her exotic orange skin, orange being his favorite color after all, then shook his head as he was staring at her bare skin just a little _**too**_ much. However they were then drawn up to her long vibrant red hair before he lifted a hand to point at her. "You have pretty hair…" He noted aloud, the Unseelie raising a brow in response while Doc lightly palmed his face with a groan. _'The attraction to red-heads must be genetic…'_ The grey inwardly decided as Rose and Kelda, both former Mistresses, were also red heads… "Uh anyway… who are you?" Naruto then questioned with a raised brow and the Flame-Unseelie crossed her arms over her chest with a deep frown.

"I am queen Kori of the Flame-Unseelie! Who are you stranger? You are not here to destroy us as well, yes?" The tiny Unseelie questioned of the blond, Naruto raising a brow, as she sort of didn't look like a queen in his opinion, as he thought queens were supposed to were more than a bikini.

"Oh, well I'm Nar… I mean The Overlord, and no, I'm not here to destroy you." Naruto started to say before correcting himself with a slight bow, and Kori frowned while floating around his head and placed a tiny hand on her chin.

"You are too small for an Overlord, yes?" She noted mostly to herself and Naruto twitched before glaring at her furiously, he hated it when people mentioned his height, and especially when they called him short!

"I'm still growing damnit!" He declared loudly and Kori merely floated down and landed on his shoulder before scurrying into his hood. "Hey! Get out of there!" Naruto shouted at her while pulling his hood down, the Unseelie now lying on his hair with a content smile on her tiny face.

"Soft hair… soft like fur… I like soft hair very much." The Unseelie practically purred out as she nuzzled into his hair like it was a bed, sounding very similar to a cat actually, and Naruto twitched violently.

"Hey! What are you doing up there?" Naruto demanded of the faerie and she languidly moved to look at him from the top of his head. Narrowing his eyes on the tiny Faerie as she looked at him, her hair falling down with her, the blond saw a grin then cross her features.

"You're my master now." She stated simply before opening her mouth to show a pair of sharp fangs before she suddenly breathed inwards. When she did a bit of bright blue light flowed out from Naruto's eyes and then up into her open maw. Closing her mouth, the tiny queen then rolled back onto his head before landing on her back where she then patted her stomach cheerfully. "Full now…" She stated and Naruto looked to Doc for an explanation since Gnarl wasn't available for the moment. Blinking for a moment when he saw his Overlord staring at him, Doc then cleared his throat and explained the situation as best he could.

"She's just made herself your familiar Sire… for all intents and purposes you're now her master and she'll do pretty much anything that you ask of her." Doc explained and Naruto groaned, Fira merely hopping off of his head and into the air before zipping around his head for a moment, and then off to the side as a ball of fire. Twitching when he remembered how she had called him short before, Naruto knelt down and leaned towards Doc with a slight frown.

"Is there any way I could get her to leave?" The blond haired overlord in training questioned and Doc shook his head.

"Once an Unseelie chooses a master, even if her crushes her in his hand, even if he forces her to grow to human size to be little more than a sex toy for the rest of her life, even if he abandons her to die in the wild, even if he tortures her for the sheer sadistic pleasure of it, she will never leave or betray him. As a familiar, her life is now tied directly to your own sire, if you die, she dies, so she'll do all in her power to keep you alive." Doc replied and Naruto frowned for a moment, before blushing heavily and sputtering as the "Sex-toy" part finally caught up to him.

"_**What!**_ But she's not even a quarter of a grown man's size! How could anyone do _**that**_ with her!" Naruto demanded loudly and Doc rolled his eyes for a moment before clearing his throat.

"Sire, have you in all your life ever heard of a male Faerie before?" The Minion questioned and the Overlord in training blinked before shaking his head. "Exactly, as beings of pure magic Faeries don't reproduce naturally and are thus all female. They literally split off one another as something of a blob that eventually takes the shape of a faerie. However, they also have a method in which they expand their Mana outwards to grow to a more human size, though this limits their magic. Dryads and Naiads are similar, only are more powerful at full size. Mistress Fey was a Faerie sire, and she lived with your Ancestor the Lord of Nordburg in her expanded size…" Doc replied while Naruto still blushed and twitched at the strangeness of all faeries.

"Master!" The blond haired youth heard from Kori and rapidly shook his head to banish those thoughts before turning to see the faerie and her people moving around several rocks. "Master is an Overlord without a kingdom, an Overlord without a crown, but an Overlord needs a crown, Kori's King needs a crown! Kori will fix this, yes! She will give her master a most wondrous crown of his very own!" The Flame-Unseelie declared while raising her arms up and her people moved and spun around a strange rock, several others carrying an emerald from a nearby wall and holding it in the air. The spinning Unseelie soon caught on fire, their bodies superheating the rock that they were spinning around before it took a mushy texture.

The Unseelie then proceeded to shape the strange mush of metal, soon forming it into a shape reminiscent of a spiked circlet / crown where the other Unseelie deposited the green gem into the forehead. Nodding her head, Kori then shouted something to her people in a strange language and Naruto watched as they slowly cooled down, the crown's glowing hot form dimming as they did. The Unseelie then carried the crown to the side, cooling more and more as they did before dropping the crown into a small pond. A burst of steam and mist rose from the pond when they did, a sizzling echoing in the cave before ending soon after. Blinking for a moment, Naruto walked over to where the Crown landed, Fira landing on his shoulder with one leg crossed over the other.

Stopping before the pond, Naruto looked into it and saw the crown's shimmering form before reaching in to grab it. Pulling it out, Naruto was surprised to find a metal crown made of a stained black material. It was fashioned somewhat like a Circlet only much thicker and sturdier, it had a pair of almost horn shaped lengths of metal that rose from where his brow would be and ended at the middle / side of the top of his head and came inward between his eyes in a vague elongated V to shadow his eyes, a single spike rising up from between those with the emerald the Unseelie had put in it at the center of his brow, while another spike formed over either of his cheek bones before flowing back over a portion of where his ears would be with the crown on.

"Wow… that looks pretty cool." Naruto marveled for a moment, then shook his head and looked to Kori with an unsure expression. "Um… thank you." He offered and Kori merely waved a hand before leaning into his neck and closing her eyes with a soft sigh. Raising a brow when she did, Naruto then gazed at his "Crown" for a moment before turning it around, pulling his old goggles down around his neck, and then slipping the crown on around his head. The blond noted that Kori had somehow measured his skull perfectly, as the crown fit perfectly, the dip of the v shaped spikes shadowing his glowing blue eyes in place of his hood.

"Yes! Now you really look like an Overlord, sire!" Doc declared happily with a grin and Naruto raised a brow, before pulling his hood up, Kori inside it, and covered his blond locks, the spikes of his new crown jutting out of it. However, the blond then grinned as he decided to mess with Doc a bit, thus he crossed his arms over his chest and gave the grey a look.

"Oh really? Then what did you think I looked like before?" Naruto questioned with a raised brow and blinked when a scared shitless look quickly formed across Doc's face. _'Jeez, why's he so freaked out?'_ The blond haired Overlord in training wondered to himself while the Grey started to stutter and shift nervously. Truthfully, Doc was worried because of the fact he didn't want to be Jester again, and he was fairly certain pissing the Overlord off was a quick way to getting the position…

"N-nothing, sire! I just meant you look more like an Overlord!" Doc exclaimed loudly, Naruto frowning for a moment before shaking his head and crossing his arms. Thinking about their situation and what they'd need, the blond then snapped his fingers and looked to his shoulder.

"Kori." Naruto then said and the faerie peered out of his hood and tilted her head to one side. "Do you think you could have your Unseelie surround the Goblin Fortress above us and wait for further instructions?" Naruto questioned and Kori nodded her head with a raised brow and head tilted to one side cutely. "Good, then do you know of a secret way into the Fortress?" Naruto then questioned of the Flame-Unseelie and the tiny-faerie nodded her head once more.

"Sire, I thought we were going to the Orcs for help." Doc noted with a frown and Naruto gave a look to the grey.

"Do you even know how to get to the Orcs?" He questioned and Doc blinked for a moment before shaking his head no nervously. "Exactly, so instead of wasting our time trying to find them, we're going to go get Gnarl and Giblet." Naruto stated with a nod of his head as if that was that and Doc nervously nodded his head in agreement with the Overlord in training. "Good, then lets get to work…" Naruto ordered and Kori frowned for only a moment before flying off to the side and speaking to the other Flame-Unseelie. Watching as they flew up through several holes in the ceiling, Naruto then followed behind Kori as she zipped over and into a small crack in the wall of the sewer.

Slipping into the crack with Doc, Naruto slide through wall before pulling himself out of the other end. Looking around for a moment, Naruto noticed the new area was bone dry unlike the sewer, and numerous large webs were covering the cave like room. "Where are we?" Naruto questioned while Kori looked around for a moment before flying back and landing on his shoulder.

"This tunnel leads to Goblin Fortress, many Arachne on the way however." Kori responded and Naruto blinked before looking over to Doc.

"What's an Arachne?" The blond questioned of his physician and Doc scratched his head while trying to remember, and then snapped his fingers when he finally remembered what it was.

"A very large very poisonous Spider, sire. I believe that your people have a word for them as well, and it's, uh… oh right, its "Onigumo (Demon Spider)" or something like that." Doc replied with a nod of his head before widening his eyes as he realized that that was very bad.

"Oh great, first Rats and now Spiders…" Naruto grumbled to himself as he started to bat away the webs around himself with Doc slowly following behind him. "Seriously, are the majority of creatures in the world just a bunch of giant pests or what?" Naruto then questioned and Doc actually thought about that for a moment, given that there were actually quite a fair amount of creatures that were little more than giant versions of average pests. Ignoring his silent physician, Naruto then growled while ripping the webs out of his path and looking to Kori. "Where exactly am I heading?" The blond asked his familiar and Kori pointed towards a barely visible tunnel across the room.

"There, follow the tunnel, it leads to Goblin cells." Kori replied from inside of the blond haired Overlord In training's hood and Naruto nodded his head. Making his way towards the tunnel, Naruto stopped when he heard a semi-loud clicking sound coming from all around. "Arachne!" Kori declared while hiding in his scarf and Naruto frowned while pulling his knife from his side, then felt his eyes bolt open when he spotted a spider that was easily half his own size. _'Dear Kami-sama! That thing is huge!'_ Naruto inwardly exclaimed before cursing as they were quickly surrounded by several of the clicking Arachne, their eyes seeming to glow in the dim light provided by the Overlord Gem.

"Crap! Kori why didn't you lead us down a safe path?" Naruto demanded before cursing as he slashed an Arachne that tried to bit into him.

"Master wanted to know of a _**secret**_ entrance, not a _**safe**_ entrance… You should really be being more pacific next time." Kori replied with a nod of her head as she continued to hide in his scarf, the blond twitching as he then cut an Onigumo in half.

"You mean specific Kori…" Naruto grumbled out while kicking another spider to the side and the tiny redhead blinked before tilting her head cutely from her perch.

"That is what I said, yes?" She questioned of him from within his scarf and the blond palmed his face for a moment before dodging as another Arachne lunged at him. Muttering under his breath about overly specific Faeries, Naruto then formed a fireball into his hand and threw it at an Arachne. "Burn! Burn!" Kori declared happily from his shoulder and Naruto rolled his eyes before rolling out of the way as another of the giant spiders tried to bite into him from the side. Twirling his knife in his hand for a moment, the blond then stabbed the blade down into the Arachne before noticing that Doc was surrounded by Arachne and unable to fight.

Twitching slightly the blond threw two fireballs at two of the Arachne before then stabbing a third. The blond haired Overlord in training then proceeded by grabbing Doc and throwing him onto his back, before rolling out of the way as another Arachne came at him. "What are you doing sire?" The physician questioned before holding on for dear life as Naruto rose to his feet and kicked an Arachne back to be trampled by the others.

"Saving your tail, that's what!" Naruto replied while forming another Fireball and tossing it into the webs around the room, setting them ablaze instantly. The Arachne made several strange noises when he did, and quickly ran out of the room into several small tunnels stationed around the walls of the cave. Cursing under his breath as it started to get a bit too warm, Naruto ran out of the room and into the tunnel Kori had told him to go through earlier. "Alright Kori is there anything else I should know about down here?" Naruto then demanded as he ran through the tunnels and Kori frowned in thought while rubbing her chin in his scarf before finally replying.

"There is still the Spider Queen, milord." She offered with a shrug and Naruto blinked before then raising a brow and wondering what that was supposed to mean.

"Spider Queen? What the hell is a…?" Naruto started to say before cursing as he was knocked into a large circular room with several rocky columns around it and webbing on the ceiling and walls. Shaking his head for a moment Naruto pulled himself to his feet and looked up, only to widen his eyes, Doc screaming loudly as a Spider three times Naruto's own height, with bright red eyes, a shiny black exoskeleton, and sharp almost blade like legs, lowered itself down from the ceiling. "Oh… so that's what you mean…" Naruto muttered lowly and then cursed a the Spider-Queen spit a glob of green acid out, the blond rolling out of the way.

The green acid made contact with the cave floor and sizzled for a moment before eating away at the stone, Naruto's eyes widening as he looked back at the enormous Spider. Landing on the ground with heavy thuds as each of its long legs made contact with the ground, The Spider-Queen then seemed to "roar" as it reared its head up before lunging at Naruto. The spider sent its two front legs at the blond, seemingly in an attempt to pierce the youth's flesh with its sharp frontal legs. Cursing and quickly avoiding each of the attempts by The Spider-Queen, Naruto then used a quick Kawarimi to avoid being impaled by replacing himself with a rock.

Running away afterwards the blond then formed a Fireball and sent it flying towards the Spider, however its exoskeleton was far too thick for the attack to do any damage at all. _'Dammit! Where the hell do monsters like this even come from!'_ Naruto inwardly demanded and then rolled to the side to evade more poison from the spider only to swear loudly and use another Kawarimi to avoid being impaled by the Spider. "I have never in all my life been so happy to know that Jutsu!" Naruto declared with panting breaths while the Spider-Queen started to walk towards him once more, the blond haired youth twitching as he tried to think of a way to stop it when a memory formed in his minds eye instead…

_(?)_

_Naruto fired an arrow and grunted when it missed a deer that quickly scampered off. _'I'm really no good with a bow…'_ The blond haired youth decided with a sigh while Sylvanas slowly shook her head while standing next to him. "Clearly your not meant to be a Ranger of any kind…" She noted aloud and the blond youth pouted slightly before looking back to her as she closed her eyes in thought._

"_Then what do I do, Sylvanas-Hime? It's not like I can just walk up to creatures and ask them nicely to be my dinner…" Naruto noted rather pointedly and the blue skinned undead elf slowly nodded her head in agreement before clicking her tongue._

"_Traps." She decided and the blond haired youth blinked for a moment._

"_Traps?" He mumbled aloud before frowning to himself and mulling over the idea of using traps to catch his prey. "But even if I use those I'll still have to kill whatever I catch, won't I?" He questioned of the woman and she nodded her head before reaching to her pack and pulled Gloria from it._

"_Indeed you will…" She replied and the blond haired youth crossed his arms and leaned back into the tree slightly with a frown. Narrowing her eyes the blue skinned undead elf slowly and quietly moved behind the much younger blond…_

"_How am I supposed to do that? I hate blood! And besides that if it's something really nasty it'll…" He started to say only to stop and widen his eyes as Sylvanas held Gloria to his throat and leaned towards his ear._

"_You talk too much…" She noted and he merely gulped while she then pulled the knife from his throat with a smirk. "One must not loose sight of his surroundings in the wild, little-one, you never know what might be lurking around the corner." Sylvanas stated pointedly and Naruto scratched his cheek while not meeting her eyes._

"_Oh… but, um, how would I manage to kill what I catch?" Naruto asked once more and Sylvanas stowed Gloria away before inhaling through her nose._

"_Strike quick, and never give them the opportunity to strike back. Also do not think of your prey as a living creature, think of it as the one thing between you, and your next meal." Sylvanas replied and Naruto flinched at the finality in her tone, and then started to scratch his head and scrunch his face up in thought._

"_Okay… but suppose it knows I'm coming, how do I kill it then?" Naruto asked and Sylvanas rolled her eyes before smirking at the blond._

"_Simple, always remember to look for your opponents weak point first, whether it be obvious or hidden, and use that to your advantage. If struck in the correct spot, some creatures will die all but instantly." Sylvanas replied with a wave of her hand and Naruto then started to drum his fingers on his bicep. "For instance, with you, it is your small stature that is your greatest weakness as almost anyone can gain leverage over you, however that is only because you are still young. Someday you will be tall enough that this won't happen anymore." Sylvanas noted while Naruto muttered to himself with a pout as she then leaned back and stated at the sky above._

_Looking at the undead elf, Naruto frowned, as he couldn't see a weak point on her and then looked to her with his head tilted to one side. "Then do you have a weak point Sylvanas-Hime?" The blond haired youth questioned and the woman blinked for a moment before placing a hand over her chest where she was wearing the amulet he'd noticed when he first met her._

"_Yes… my heart… my memories… these things are my weakness. For it is only when I remember who I once was, when I remember the things I once did, that I truly feel like a monster." Sylvanas replied and then shook her head and gave the blond haired youth a look. "Cherish your life while you still have it, and remember what I have taught you always. For you never know when you will need my lessons in the future to survive the days to come." Sylvanas urged and Naruto blinked before slowly nodding his head, not truly understanding but feeling the weight of her words._

"_I… I think I get it, Sylvanas-Hime…" The blond haired youth finally replied and the blue skinned undead elf smiled slightly…_

Coming out of his memories, Naruto then cursed while dodging a bolt of poison that the Spider-Queen spit at him. Narrowing his eyes onto the creature, Naruto checked off its legs from weak-points since it's exo-skeleton was very dense. Blinking the blond then had an idea and quickly looked back to his physician. "Doc, do Spiders that big have a weak-point?" Naruto asked the physician quickly while dodging out of the way as the Spider-Queen lunged at him. Quickly moving out of the way, Naruto scowled as the Spider-Queen made that same strange roar-esque sound and crouched down before launching itself up. Cursing lightly, Naruto lunged out of the way and into a roll as it came down, Doc yelping as he did and then shaking all over.

"Um, I believe so… yes, the eyes for one and also it's belly! Those are it's weakest points sire!" Doc replied quickly and Naruto nodded his head while turning back to the Spider-Queen. The said beast gave another strange clicking roar as it lunged at him at full force, however Naruto quickly formed a Fire-Ball into his right hand and tossed it into the face of the Spider-Queen, nailing it in the eyes before dodging to the side as it slammed into a wall and several large rocks fell on top of it. Turning around to see it, Naruto grunted as it managed to climb out from under the rocks and then started to climb up the webbing covering the walls when an idea came to mind.

'_Alright big-girl, just climb up a little more…'_ Naruto mentally ordered before grinning when he saw it move upside down on the webs over him. "Kori! Go burn those webs down now!" Naruto ordered and the Flame-Unseelie quickly shot up into the air, circled the Spider-Queen and caused the webbing around it to catch on fire. The flames caused the Queen great pain from the shriek like sounds it produced, before the creature fell down onto its back as the webs were completely burned away. Moving quickly, Naruto jumped up onto The Spider-Queen's underside and quickly dug his knife into its body before sliding back and slicing its belly open.

Kicking off of it's body, Naruto moved into a flip and landed in a low crouch as The Spider-Queen started to thrash about. Hearing a sizzling sound Naruto looked to his knife, only to curse and throw it to the side as the Spider-Queen's blood burned away at it before turning it into a pool of silvery mush. _'Okay, that is one seriously nasty spider…'_ The blond thought to himself before looking back to the still thrashing Spider-Queen, which eventually moved back onto its legs again, only for them to shudder for a moment before it fell forward. Hearing a sizzling sound, Naruto widened his eyes upon seeing the Spider-Queen's blood was somehow eating through its entire body and leaving only its exoskeleton remaining.

"Whoa…" Naruto whispered to himself and then looked to Kori as she floated down and hid in his scarf once more. "Alright, now that that's over lets get a move on, that Spider really cost us some time." Naruto stated while Doc slid off of his back and fell face forward, groaning as he did so. Shaking his head afterwards, the Physician then looked around for a moment before letting out a breath.

"I really don't want to be doing that again…" Doc noted while getting up to his feet and brushing himself off. Looking to the deceased Spider-Queen afterwards, the grey then slowly walked over to it and poked one of its legs. Taking a step back as soon as he did, Doc then watched the queen before breathing a sigh of relief when it didn't get back up. "Impressive work, Sire, I dare say that's the fastest I've ever seen someone take down a Spider-Queen." The grey noted aloud and Naruto merely looked to Kori as she stuck her head out of his scarf. However only a few seconds later several spheres of Life-Force formed around the Spider's body, Naruto raising a brow when he saw how much was formed from the single creature.

"Doc, why did that thing just produce so much more Life-Force than most of the other creatures down here have?" Naruto questioned of the grey and Doc scratched his head while trying to think of a way to explain it.

"Well sire, a creature this large requires more Life-Force than normal, most larger creatures produce more. Elves also do, but that is because they have an extremely long lifespan, so the longer the life expectancy of a creature, the more Life-Force it has and produces for you to absorb. Also, your "Shinobi" who train with Chakra increase the amount of Life-Force in their body by training with Chakra, and would also produce more Life-Force than normal." Doc explained as best he could and Naruto slowly nodded his head, contemplating that for only a moment before raising his hand and calling the Spider-Queen's Life-Force into his Overlord-Gem. Nodding his head, Naruto then looked to the still floating Kori.

"Care to show us the way into the Goblin Fortress'?" Naruto asked the tiny Unseelie and she tilted her head as the blond then crossed his arms with a frown. "And preferably down a safe route this time…" Naruto pleaded with a slight sigh and Kori merely grinned before flying from his shoulder and down into a cave. Following behind her, Naruto reached into his scarf and rubbed his neck, wondering what new hell the little faerie would bring him and Doc. Quietly following behind the Flame-Unseelie, Naruto raised a brow when he saw a crack in the tunnel with a light shining through it, Kori hovering in front of it with her hands on her hips.

"This is Goblin Dungeon under Fortress." She replied with a shrug before floating over and entering into his scarf once more. Twitching when he heard her yawn then fall to sleep, Naruto muttered to himself about lazy faeries while looking through the crack and into the dungeons. Checking for guards or any other kind of protection, the blond then cautiously and carefully slipped inside. Waiting for Doc to slip through as well, the blond then made sure there were no Guards, before frowning and wondering why they had such lousy security. _'I mean c'mon you'd think they'd have like one guard down here…'_ He thought to himself with a frown before hearing someone muttering to himself down the line of cells.

"Zim will not stand for this indignity! Zim will have his revenge! No one imprisons the almighty Zim! NO ONE! Not even The Tallest can imprison Zim!" A squeaky albeit masculine voice exclaimed loudly, Naruto raising a brow at the half crazed tone of voice. "Oh Zim will make them pay! How he will make them pay! They shall know true horror! Zim shall imprison them in a room… with a moose!" Zim declared loudly and Naruto stopped and snorted before snickering into one hand. _'Definitely crazed…'_ The blond haired youth decided inwardly, while Doc raised a brow and looked to his master with confusion on his face.

"Master, what's so bad about a room with a moose?" Doc questioned of the blond haired Overlord in training and Naruto merely shrugged his shoulders before stepping back as something slammed into the bars of the cell.

"Who dares to approach the almighty Zim!" A tiny Goblin demanded loudly with a snarl on its face, Naruto raising a brow at the supposedly "Almighty" creature that was locked in a cell before him. The goblin looked average, having all the basic features of a common Goblin, only with bright crimson red eyes and slicked back spiky black hair, not to mention appearing to be only three feet tall. He is dressed in a long and bright crimson red segmented leather shirt with an open black collar / mask, a brown leather harness is fastened around his shoulders with black pauldrons and a strange plate at the center of his back, a black leather loincloth with strap crossing over his outer thighs, and black wrappings over his forearms / hands and shins / feet.

"Almighty huh?" Naruto quipped dryly while crossing his arms over his chest and the tiny green critter narrowed its crimson eyes on him.

"Indeed! Zim is almighty for Zim is the greatest ever! None are greater than Zim!" The tiny Goblin declared with a wide insane looking grin across his face, before taking a moment to frown in thought and tap his chin. "Well, maybe not greater than The Overlord, but still… greater than everything else!" He declared and Naruto rolled his eyes, smirking in amusement while leaning towards the critter.

"I _**am**_ The Overlord." The Blond responded and Zim raised a brow before scoffing and snickering to himself. Frowning deeply, Naruto watched as Zim then fell back with laughter, a scowl forming across the young Overlord's lips.

"You the Overlord!" Zim exclaimed loudly while Naruto formed a fireball into one hand while glaring furiously at the Goblin. "Your barely bigger than Zim is! And you're saying that you're supposed to be…" Zim started to say before yelping loudly as the Fireball made contact with his ass, launching him into the air before he fell back down with a grunt. Looking up with a snarl, the Goblin then widened his eyes seeing the once glowing blue eyes had turned a deep malevolent red, steaming trails of vapor rising from out of his hood as he slammed a fist into the bars of Zim's cell. Naruto could take a lot of things, but he _**really**_ didn't like being laughed at, especially not by arrogant pricks!

"**Yes worm! I **_**am**_** The Overlord!"** Naruto growled out in a demonic tone, Zim shrinking back while Doc snickered to himself. In the old jester's opinion, Zim should've shown more tact, especially seeing as he was locked in a cell… and he idly wondered if Naruto would make the Goblin his new jester, as while Minions were commonly chosen for the position, a Halfling had originally held it.

"I am so happy I'm not the one who pissed him off for once!" Doc declared and Naruto shot a look at him before glaring back at Zim furiously.

"Oh… so you really _**are**_ The Overlord then?" Zim questioned while noting Doc and then grimaced as Naruto nodded his head with a low growl. Gulping loudly the Goblin shot forward and reached out of his cell to grasp the young Overlord In trainings legs while bowing his head. "Then please oh Almighty Overlord, forgive Zim! Zim did not know what he was doing! Zim will do anything you ask! Anything! Just please don't doom Zim for his ignorance!" The Goblin pleaded loudly while Naruto reached up and palmed his face for a moment, then glared down at Zim with his eyes slowly returning back to their usual azure hue.

"Stop with the begging already, Zim." Naruto ordered and the Goblin looked up to the young Overlord and blinked. "If I let you out, I want you to lead me to the chiefs of your tribe, they've captured my Minions and I need to retrieve them." Naruto stated and saw Zim widen his eyes for a moment before rubbing at his chin with a thoughtful frown across his face. A second later Zim grinned up at Naruto while quickly climbing back to his feet with a wide grin.

"Zim agrees! And Zim shall prove his worth to the Almighty Overlord once and for all!" Zim declared loudly and Naruto rolled his eyes before forming a fireball into his hand. Blinking for a moment, Zim quickly got the idea and backed away from his cell door as Naruto slammed the fireball into it, knocking the door loose and causing it to fall into the cell where Zim launched himself out of it. "Zim is free! Free I tell you free!" Zim declared loudly and Naruto grabbed the Goblin's hair and looked him in the eye with a deep frown across his face.

"Focus, Zim. We have to get to my Minions!" Naruto reminded and Zim rapidly nodded his head before quickly running off. Twitching as he was left behind Naruto followed after him for a moment, before suddenly stopping, picking up Doc, throwing the grey onto his back, and then running after the Goblin. Making his way after Zim, Naruto soon slid to a stop and saw Zim turn into a room. "Why is he such a spaz?" Naruto mumbled in question, Doc shrugging from his back while Naruto walked into the room and found the Goblin rummaging through several crates.

"Aha! Here we go!" Zim declared while sitting up, wearing a spiked helmet that had what resembled a pair of Antenna on the top. He was also clutching a black metal mace with green glass spikes on it, the handle wrapped in brown leather. Rolling his eyes, Naruto walked into the armory and looked around for a moment. Spying a shield with leather straps on the underside for his forearm that would allow him to use a weapon and the shield at the same time, the blond haired Overlord pilfered that and slipped it onto his right arm. Looking around for a moment more, he then grabbed two black metal short-swords with green glass blades and slipped them into the loop of his belt. Nodding his head once that was done with, Naruto walked over to where Zim was still sitting and bopped him on the head.

"Why did you need to stop for a mace?" Naruto questioned with a raised brow and Zim grinned while climbing back up to his feet.

"Zim figured that Zim could help you defeat the traitorous Chiefs! If they are truly going against The Almighyty Overlord, then we must go forth and destroy them for their treachery!" Zim declared and Naruto rolled his eyes before frowning as a thought hit him. Honestly it had bugged him there were no guards at the cells, but he had to know why there were no guards near the armory either. And here he thought that was the kind of place that you always wanted to station guards!

"Why are there no guards down here then?" The blond haired Overlord in Training questioned and Zim yawned for a moment before replying.

"Guards used to be down here, but the chiefs moved several to other places and others were relocated into the worker cast. There will be a couple on the way up though… and Zim was arrested…" Zim replied with a shrug of his shoulders while Doc frowned deeply at that tidbit of information. More the Zim being arrested than anything, he could see these new chiefs were probably trying to make more money by forcing the Goblin Horde to work, it didn't make much sense of course, but when you use The Overlord as a scapegoat, who is known for his excessive cruelty and evil…

"Why were you arrested exactly?" Doc questioned of the tiny Goblin and Zim winced while rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"Zim is… uh… accident prone." The Goblin replied while Naruto blinked and looked at him incredulously.

"Why would someone throw you in a dungeon for being accident prone?" Naruto demanded of Zim, seeing as he couldn't believe anyone was that stupid. Sure he could see them not putting him with guards or diggers, but certainly Zim had other skills that he could use in a different job.

"Well. At first when Zim was very Small, Zim accidentally caused half the city to loose power… then when Zim was a Tinker, Zim made many weapons that exploded and destroyed the other half of the city… then there was the time Zim awakened an ancient evil that devoured our leader, and the time Zim was in the military and destroyed all the other soldiers, then there was the time Zim was a…" Zim started to list and Naruto shut him up by putting a hand over his mouth and rubbing his face.

"Never mind… I get the point." Naruto grumbled out as it seemed that Zim was not only a little insane, but also caused horrible accidents that lost too many lives, so they threw him in the dungeons to get rid of him… "So anyways, are any guards between us and the fortress up above?" Naruto asked the tiny Goblin and Zim nodded his head.

"Yes, many Heavy-Goblin-Warriors and Guards are between the chiefs and us… it will be most troublesome to try and get passed them all…" Zim noted only for Naruto to reach up and rub his chin with a thoughtful expression before smirking.

"Oh I think I have a way for us to get around…" The blond haired Overlord noted aloud before forming a quick handseal. **"Henge (Transform)!"** He declared loudly, Zim watching as a plume of smoke formed, and then a basic Goblin Guard appeared where the blond had been a moment before.

"What the! What did you do with the Overlord?" Zim demanded while grabbing hold of the disguised blond's shirt and Naruto gave the tiny Goblin a flat look.

"It's me Zim, I'm using a disguise…" Naruto stated simply, causing Zim to stare at him for a moment before releasing him with a very nervous grin.

"Uh right… so what now?" Zim questioned while Doc gaped towards Naruto for a moment, and then mentally decided to find out what other abilities the Shinobi of this era had managed to create.

"Since I look like a guard now, I'll lead both you and Doc up and pretend like you're my prisoners." Naruto replied with a nod of his head, Kori's head coming out of the red scarf still around his neck, looking around with a yawn, then slipping back into his scarf unnoticed.

"That's brilliant, sire!" Zim declared while Naruto rolled his eyes and then grabbed him and Doc by the bicep before pulling them out of the armory and down the halls with a smirk. "Ouch! Yes, very convincing performance Milord!" Zim declared while he and Doc were pulled along roughly, Zim more than Doc, and the blond haired Overlord silently walked through the halls of the dungeon. Making his way down a hall with a guard, Naruto mentally palmed his face when he saw the Goblin Warrior was fast asleep at his station.

'_It sort of makes me wonder how these guys are dangerous…'_ The blond thought to himself while turning and walking up a flight of stairs, narrowing his eyes when they came to a gate with a guard behind it. "What are you doing wit' Zim and that little grey thing there?" The guard questioned of them suspiciously and Naruto merely looked to Zim for a moment before replying.

"I found him out a his cell an' tryin' ta get out a crack in the dungeon walls that looked like it led into the sewers. This little grey thing 'ere was there wit' em." Naruto replied in his best imitation of the strange accent he'd heard from the Goblin. Hearing the admittedly reasonable and likely answer The Goblin Guard blinked for a moment before scratching his head.

"Oh, then wa's you doing up 'ere then?" The Goblin Guard questioned and Naruto thought up a lie as quickly as he could.

"I was gonna take 'em to the chiefs, ya know, find out what they want me ta' do wit' em." Naruto replied and the Goblin Guard reached up and stroked his chin for a moment before nodding his head.

"Alright then, carry on." He decided while pulling a lever, the gate swinging open and allowing Naruto, Doc, and Zim to pass it. Stopping behind the guard, Naruto then turned and slammed the back of his fist into the Goblin Guard's head, slamming it into the bars of the gate and knocking him out cold. Kneeling down to make sure he was out, Naruto then dragged the Goblin passed the gate and left him lying on the floor, then pulled the lever to seal it shut. Using all his strength, the blond then ripped the lever out of the ground and tossed it to the side with a smirk. Turning around, Naruto found Doc and Zim shooting him questioning looks, the Young Overlord rolling his eyes.

"We won't have to worry about any Goblin's from down there coming up to bug us now…" Naruto answered and then pulled the two up the rest of the stairs, looking to either side when they came to a crossway before continuing forward. Soon enough, the blond haired youth and his two companions walked out of the bowels of the dungeons and onto the wall around the Goblin Chiefs Keep. Looking around to ensure that there were no guards around, The Blond then released his Henge and reappeared out of a plume of smoke in his normal formed.

"Now what milord?" Zim questioned and Naruto reached into his scarf to poke, Kori, the tiny Flame-Unseelie sticking her head out of his hood when he did.

"Kori, have your Unseelie distract the Goblins by attacking the outer wall, that should allow me and Zim to enter the main building. Once the fireballs stop I want them to retreat and hide, we'll have managed to enter the fortress by then." Naruto ordered and Kori thought about it for a moment before nodding and zipping off to do as ordered. Looking around for a moment, Naruto then held his arms apart from one another and formed a fireball between his hands. Hurling the ball into the air, Naruto quickly made another as the Flame-Unseelie started to attack the outer wall of the Goblin Fortress.

"What are you doing?" Zim questioned of the Young Overlord while scratching his head and Naruto rolled his eyes. Watching as numerous Goblins started running out of the chiefs' fortress to try and find out what was going on.

"Introducing a little anarchy into the established order." Naruto replied while hurling another fireball into the air, before quickly forming another between his hands. Finally, after throwing five more of the spheres of fire into the air, Naruto then raised a hand and snapped his fingers. Instantly, the balls of flame exploded, sending down several smaller balls of fire towards the ground. The Unseelie attacking the walls of the Goblin Fortress used these flames to boost their own powers, and started to hurl stronger fireballs at the Goblins. The Goblins started to scream in pain as they did, some running around while on fire as the tiny-Unseelie evaded their own attacks.

"Okay lets move!" Naruto declared while getting up and throwing several more Fireballs into the air before causing them to explode as well, giving another quick boost to the attacking Unseelie. Ignoring the sounds of screams and what they entailed, Naruto grabbed Zim by the back of his shirt before jumping off of the wall. The tiny Goblin screamed loudly as they fell off of the wall only for Naruto to land on the ground heavily, yet still very safe. Dropping Zim to the ground afterwards, Naruto ran over to the Goblin fortress and narrowed his eyes before throwing a couple more Fireballs into the air and snapped his fingers, flames falling onto the area while he and his group discreetly entered into the Goblin Fortress…

Meanwhile inside the fortress, a familiar female Goblin heard the explosions coming from outside and narrowed her eyes. "Tak!" A nasally male voice exclaimed as a chubby Goblin rushed towards her, having the same appearance as any other Goblin save for his auburn Mohawk. "There are Flame-Unseelie attacking! And fire is raining down on us outside!" The chubby Goblin declared with wide eyes and the female, now named Tak, reached up and lightly rubbed at her chin._ 'Could this be The Overlord at work?'_ Tak wondered to herself for a moment before shaking her head and then glared at the shorter Male Goblin.

"Get Echo, Skutch, Larb, Tenn, and Zee and commence with the plan. Have Tenn lock all the doors, have Echo lower all the gates to keep those guards from getting in here, Zee can go make sure the medical area is secure, then get Larb to get all the traps out of the way of the Overlords Path, and have Skutch disable the alarm systems so no one else will come here, and I want you to divert all remaining guards away from the halls leading to the chiefs. I'll get The Minions to some weapons and armor." Tak ordered and the chubby Goblin nodded his head before quickly running off in another direction while Tak turned on her heel and walked to the holding Chamber they were keeping the Minions. Entering into it and turning when she heard another explosion, Tak then walked over to the minions and smirked when she saw Gnarl glare at her.

"What in the bloody hell is going on out there!" Gnarl demanded before another explosion sounded off and echoed throughout the many halls of The Goblin Fortress. Crossing her arms and leaning into the bars of the Minions Cell, Tak then yawned while listening to yet another explosion.

"Seems your Overlord managed to get the Flame-Unseelie to join him. They're attacking the walls of the fortress, and drawing the majority of the guards to them." Tak replied and Gnarl palmed his face before shaking his head and glaring at her.

"Then hold up your end of the bargain and get us out of here! We need to reach the master before he makes it to the chiefs and gets himself killed!" Gnarl demanded and Tak rolled her eyes before fishing some keys out of the strange metal plates on her back and unlocked The Minions' Cell door as well as the door to the Brown Minion Hive. Shuffling out of the cell, Gnarl made his way over to a large brown mound and made a motion five times, Five Browns instantly shot out of the Hive and walked to stand with Gnarl and the primary browns. "Alright, lets move! The master needs us!" Gnarl declared and the browns whooped while Tak motioned for them to follow her and ran out and down towards an armory.

The Browns lunged into the armory with wild-abandon, tearing everything apart that they could before coming back out armed to the teeth. "Good! Now you four come here!" Gnarl ordered the four Primary's besides Giblet and then stopped in front of him before looking questioningly. Whispering into their ears, Gnarl then smirked as they grinned and nodded their heads, quickly rushing to the side, ripping a grate off of a vent, and lunged inside of it. "Alright now lets move out you lot!" Gnarl declared with a snarl, Tak nodding her head and motioning for the Minions to follow her as she ran down one of the many halls of The Fortress. As they did, they then slid to a halt and saw a surprised Naruto along with Zim and Doc who all stopped across from them.

"Master?" Gnarl questioned and the blond blinked in surprise and relief.

"Gnarl! Giblet! You're both okay!" The blond declared thankfully while Tak and Zim glared at one another hatefully.

"Tak!" Zim snarled out while pointing at her and she ground her teeth together.

"Zim!" She hissed in reply while they each glared at one another and before Gnarl or Naruto could ask what was going on, three more Goblins ran towards them. The first was male and a head taller than even Naruto, wearing a long black and white striped segmented shirt, a pair of boots like Tak, with pale green skin, a pair of goggles over his eyes, and the other usual Goblin affects. Behind him were two females, one in red, and the other in purple with matching eye colors.

"Tak!" The big one exclaimed while sliding to a halt, a pair of glass swords in his hands. "We've managed to trap all the guards outside, if we're really going to attack the chiefs then we better do it now." The very large Goblin declared and Tak nodded her head while Zim raised a brow.

"Echo?" He questioned and the male lightly groaned upon seeing him.

"Zim? What are you doing here?" Echo felt the need to question only for Gnarl to growl and pull Naruto in the direction of the chiefs.

"Who cares we have work to do! Minions lets move!" Gnarl declared and the many browns whooped loudly before following the Overlord and Minion Master, Tak quickly catching up with Zim, Echo, and the other two females following behind them. Running down the halls of the Fortress, Naruto grimaced upon seeing two Heavy-Guards marching towards them, only for Gnarl to growl lightly. "Minions attack!" Gnarl declared while The Browns lunged passed them and jumped onto the Heavy-Guards, quickly stabbing their blades through the small openings in their armor to take them down.

"C'mon you lot! Move it! We don't have time to screw around!" Gnarl then declared while hobbling next to Naruto as quickly as his old legs could carry him. The Browns looked to one another afterwards and then quickly jumped up and ran after the group as they approached the Chiefs' quarters. Spotting the doors up ahead, Naruto quickly formed a large fireball between his hands before tossing it at the doors and knocking them down with a loud explosion.

"Well if they didn't know where we were heading before, they do now…" Tak noted snarkily and Naruto glared at her for a moment while the group entered into the Chiefs' Quarters, Red and Purple standing inside. Red was now holding a spear or some other kind of pole-arm however, while Purple was partially hiding behind a shield.

"Oh I knew this wouldn't end well! I told you this was a bad idea! I told you!" The purple-eyed chief declared loudly and his red-eyed counterpart merely glared at him in annoyance. He then turned and narrowed his eyes onto Naruto, before mentally scoffing as he saw how small he was.

"Calm down, what can a tiny Overlord, a batch of tiny minions, and some worthless traitors do to us?" Red reminded and yet Purple didn't look to convinced while gulping as Gnarl narrowed his sole eye onto them dangerously. Naruto however growled at the tiny crack, only to glare at Gnarl as he held him back with one arm.

"You two idiots have reached the end of the line!" Gnarl declared and Red scoffed while twirling the pole-arm in his hands and glaring at them. Neither chief noticed a ventilation shaft being opened above them, nor the eight glowing yellow eyes that were looking down at them from above.

"Yeah, well you and what army are going to make me give up my station?" Red retorted and Gnarl merely pointed upwards, the red-eyed Goblin looking up a second later only for several Browns to drop down on top of him from a vent above them.

"Don't need an army, not when you two have less brains than a common Minion, or when you really need smaller vents." Gnarl replied with a slight snicker to himself, then grinning darkly as the Browns managed to hold down the two chiefs'.

"What now, Gnarl?" One of the Browns holding the former chiefs' down questioned with a grin and Gnarl rubbed his chin before grinning sinisterly.

"Take them to the dungeons, I'm going to have some _**fun**_ with those two later." Gnarl replied with a maniacal chuckle, Purple whimpering quietly while Red glared at the Minion and started to curse him even as he and his compatriot were dragged away kicking and screaming obscenities. "Now then, Tak, I need you and the other Goblins to spread the word to your people! Tell them that The Overlord has returned to power and the fallen chiefs are out of commission. Doc, head out with them and see to the Goblin's health, we need a healthy workforce not a bunch of half-dead Goblins lazing about." Gnarl ordered and got nods from those he spoke too, Doc sliding off of Naruto's back before following the Goblins out of the room.

"Hey! What about Zim? Zim wished to destroy the foolish chiefs for trapping him in the stinky smelly dungeons!" The tiny terror demanded loudly with a scowl and Gnarl looked at him strangely for a moment before mulling that over.

"You… uh… Zim, you can go and… hmm…" Gnarl started to say while Naruto looked between the two for a moment as the grey then snapped his fingers. "I need you to go explore the Keep and search for any traps or the like that the Chiefs might've set up." Gnarl said with a grin on his face, Zim blinking for a moment before frowning deeply.

"What kind of job is that for The Almighty Zim! Zim wishes to serve his Overlord! Not be a simple janitor!" Zim declared because as far as he was concerned, anything Red or Purple left behind was little more than trash.

"Think of it this way, you're ensuring that the Overlord isn't hurt by any unfortunate little traps they could've had lying around for intruders…" Gnarl replied and Zim seemed to mull this over for a moment before grinning widely.

"Then Zim shall not fail his Overlord!" The Tiny-Terror declared loudly before rushing out of the room and leaving a slight dust trail behind him. Blinking for a moment and then looking around, Naruto let out a breath and crossed his arms over his chest with a frown as he realized Gnarl hadn't even needed him to fight.

"You know, this seems kind of anti-climatic… and I was actually kind of looking forward to a good brawl for once." Naruto noted mostly to himself and Gnarl merely shrugged his shoulders before moving to stand at his side.

"Forgive me, sire. I feel it best you be bonded to The Overlord Heart before you engage in any kind of unnecessary combat, so I had the Minions infiltrate the ventilation ducts and follow us from above before ambushing the chiefs." Gnarl explained before walking over to the side where the Overlord-Heart was resting among a large pile of gold. "Now come, Sire. It's time you gained your true power!" Gnarl declared with a grin on his face, The Browns whooping with joy as he passed them and walked over to the small fortune chamber. Looking at the Overlord Heart for a moment, Naruto briefly wondered how something so pretty could possibly be a source of evil power…

"So what do I do now, Gnarl?" Naruto questioned of the elderly Minion-Master and Gnarl grinned widely while turning to the youthful Overlord in Training.

"Just place your hands on the Overlord-Heart, Sire, I will do all the rest." Gnarl replied with a slight bow, Naruto looking to The Heart warily for a moment before doing as he was requested. Nodding his head, Gnarl then walked over to The Heart and cleared his throat, whispering a strange chant afterwards, Naruto briefly wondered what he was doing before his eyes bolted open and sparks of lightning arched up his arms. Quickly flying off of the young Overlord, Kori then watched from above as he screamed in unimaginable pain as raw power was pumped into his body from the Heart, wind swirling as lightning arched from it's surface.

The blond was then flung back by The Heart, only for a beam of energy to shoot out and attach to him. Naruto screamed in pain even as he was lifted off the ground, wind churning and lightning arching over his body. Gritting his teeth the blond felt his ears as they lengthened to a sharp point in a similar nature to that of Sylvanas, however the pain of what was happening dulled all other responses as with one final pulse of energy, the blond was allowed to fall back to the ground, his eyes glowing a brilliant crimson red. Hobbling over to the young Overlord in training, Gnarl looked at him for a moment as his red eyes then returned to their original azure hue, mere seconds before he passed out…

(?)

Deep within the darkness of Naruto's subconscious, a pair of bright azure blue eyes slowly opened before a familiar blond haired youth sat up. "Okay, what the hell was that?" He wondered before blinking his eyes fully open and found himself within a massive arena, a large golden cage stationed over to the side with a paper-tag with the Kanji for Seal holding it shut. Shaking his head, the blond looked all around, before raising a brow when he saw red energy crawl out of the cage to the side, a deep, and dark foreboding chuckle echoing out along with it.

"**So we meet at last…"** A deep demonic voice echoed out as Naruto walked slowly towards the Cage. **"… Young Overlord."** The voice finished as a pair of large red cat like eyes opened in the darkness, an inhuman grin opening below it a second later. Raising a brow for a moment, the youth then yelped and jumped back as a claw nearly dug into his skull naught but a second later. **"He heh heh ha ha ha ha… you shouldn't be so jumpy. I can't hurt you in this world… no matter how much I might want too."** The beast stated darkly while the blond haired youth looked around the arena for a moment, before looking up and widening his eyes upon seeing an enormous mirror.

"Wha… where am I?" Naruto questioned and the beast chuckled lightly while gazing up towards the mirror, where three sets of eyes opened in its dark reflection.

"**This is your mind, Gaki. And in a few seconds your going to have a very interesting experience… if fact, you are one of the very few mortals who can boast to have experienced it."** The beast behind the cage replied while Naruto looked back up to the mirror and widened his eyes as it shattered, forming into three pieces that fell to the ground below. The blond widened his eyes as they did, before he was crushed under them and the three pieces started to glow brightly. The mirror pieces then rose up and spread out in a perfect triangle, each one stopping before a person walked out of them.

The first of them was dressed in pitch black spiky plate-mail armor with a dragon motif to it, and what looked like black clothing under it, along with a crown like helmet and leather mask that vaguely resembled a three horned dragon's head, complete with two rubies in a pair of "eyes", while his own eyes were glowing a bright ominous red in color, numerous spikes could be seen growing out of his armor at the joints of his armor, a red scarf and loincloth, and a strange black and red haze surrounding his form, and in his right hand the black knight clutches a large heavy obsidian black battle-ax.

The next one is dressed in a simple outfit of pure white leather armor with a blue scarf around his neck, a strange belt synched around his waist with a chain hanging from one side, a pair of pouches at his lower back. This one wasn't wearing a helm or even a mask however, instead having brilliant jade green eyes with bright blond hair spiking out in all directions, his features perfectly mirroring a normal human Naruto. In his hands, this one holds a pair of short-swords, each one perfectly balanced and made from pure gleaming silver as apposed to the obsidian quality to the first being's armor and weapons.

Last is one dressed in black leather Half-Plate armor overtop simple clothing, with hanging leather plates covering his thighs, a scale-mail red-orange loincloth is built into the waist armor and hangs down from the front, a pair of brown leather belts are synched around his waist with two large pouches at the back, a pair of straps overlapping his thighs to reach his mid-back under the pouches, the few bits of metal he wears seem to be a set of metallic silver claws over his fingers, a metal buckle clipped to his red-orange scarf, a series of thin plates down the length of his spine, and a familiar horned crown with a green gem in the center over his forehead only with pure silvery white hair and a pair of long elf-like ears, his skin looking off-silver and scaly, and last he wears a familiar leather facemask concealing all but his piercing azure blue eyes from view.

"Wh-what the hell! What's going on here?" The one in white demanded while looking around, the black one merely narrowing its eyes before chuckling darkly.

"**Oh this looks to be most amusing, wouldn't you say so brothers!"** The Black Knight questioned of his comrades, the one dressed in blue / orange reaching up to stroke his chin for a moment.

"It would seem as if our psyche has been split into three separate aspects." He noted while looking to the confused one in white and had to hold back a sneer. "You are the good and kind self, most likely wielding Magic, you are Hikari, our Light." The crowned one noted with a nod before turning to the Black-Knight and scowled deeply. "You are our hatred and bloodlust, the one wielding our physical Strength, thus are Yami, our Darkness." He continued with another nod of his head before crossing his arms over his chest. "And finally, since you two represent Light and Darkness, or rather, our emotions. You are the Chaos of our existence, and as such I must represent Order." The crowned and unnamed aspect noted before looking to the other two silently for a moment, then continuing.

"Therefore, I am Logic and Reasoning, who has the use of our more Stealth Orientated Skills, I am without emotion to hamper our decisions while you two represent the most extreme aspects of our emotions. As such I shall be Garandou, as I am Hollow or Void." The final being stated with a curt bow while Hikari looked to Yami and Garandou in clear confusion.

"W-wait, then what're we here for?" The blond questioned of his well, "brothers" and Garandou merely rolled his glowing azure eyes, only for Yami to scoff and glare at the most light orientated of them.

"**That should be obvious even to a dobe like you! We're here to fight!"** The Black-Knight declared with a near psychotic grin hidden by his facemask, Hikari looking to Garandou for conformation.

"Unfortunately our brutish brother is quite correct. Logically, The Overlord Heart brought us here in order to focus us into one being, hence how it allows us to focus more clearly. This will also have the added benefit of making our will more clear to our minions as if we remained as we are, they could accidentally draw from the wills of our different aspects instead of a single unified aspect that we must become." Garandou explained intelligently, though with a dull monotone voice and Yami grinned darkly while looking towards Hikari.

"**Yeah, and logically speaking, you should wait for me to beat dipshit here to a pulp before fighting me yourself… right?"** Yami noted and Hikari widened his eyes, as he really didn't like where this was going.

"Logically speaking, you are correct Yami. It is a simple tactical decision, allow your enemies to deal with one another then strike when they are at their weakest." Garandou replied in a monotone and Yami chuckled darkly while taking several menacing steps towards Hikari.

"**Good, just give me a second and we can brawl for a bit before I take over!"** Yami declared as Hikari looked from Garandou to Yami and then widened his eyes as the largest of them approached.

"B-But, why are we fighting? I get we're separate aspects of Uzumaki Naruto and all, but why must we fight?" Hikari questioned of his brothers and Yami chuckled darkly while approaching his light-sided sibling.

"**To decide who controls our Will of course! We represent different aspects of Uzumaki Naruto, the three strongest aspects! As such, we shall battle for supremacy over the others, thus deciding who truly controls our Will."** Yami responded before lunging at Hikari and swinging his massive battle-ax at him, the blond yelping as he ducked to the side and then moved his hand towards him and shot out a burst of wind that threw the large aspect flying. Growling darkly as he landed on his back, Yami narrowed his eyes while forming a ball of fire over his right hand.

"Wait! I thought I was supposed to be magic!" Hikari declared and Yami chuckled darkly while Garandou let out a slight groan, while idly wondering why his two brothers were so much less intelligent than him.

"You represent our Skill in Magic, basically, your best when using magic. However we can all still use magic as our complete self can…" Garandou explained while holding one hand out and forming lightning over it for a second. The sparks of lightning arched and twisted over his hand for but a moment before Garandou clenched his fist and it fizzled out of existence. Chuckling at this, Yami then roared while throwing his fireball straight for Hikari, the light-sided aspect ducking out of the way before widening his eyes as Yami lunged at him.

"**Time to die brother!"** Yami declared loudly, almost insanely, while Garandou pinched the bridge of his nose and saw Hikari roll out of the way, Yami cursing as he was thrown forward. _'Hikari is too kind to lead us to victory, he can't accomplish what needs to be done, but Yami is far too violent, he'd lead us to our death, as such, I fear that it is up to me to lead us in the coming war…'_ Garandou noted while waving his hand and seeming to shimmer out of existence, Yami and Hikari paying him no mind.

"C-Come now brother, surely we can settle this non-violently!" Hikari exclaimed while backpedaling from the large black knight, unwilling to hurt his brother, as he was composed of nothing but kindness.

"**Would you shut the hell up! Urgh! Just listening to you makes me feel ill! How could you possibly be Overlord! Your not worthy of that title, you'd get us killed in a day!"** Yami roared while stalking towards Hikari furiously, the light-sided aspect merely watching on as his brutish brother brandished his ax. **"I'll lead us to glorious vengeance and decimate all who are foolish enough to get in our way!"** Yami declared loudly only for Garandou to suddenly voice out his opinion on the matter.

"Saddly, as I am Logic and Reason, I reason that allowing you to achieve even a shred of dominance within our will would lead to our destruction." Garandou then stated, Yami turning to the voice only to widen his eyes as his dull brother stabbed a dagger into his throat from behind.

"**Urgh… w-what the hell! You… ba-bastard!"** Yami gurgled out while his body began to shake and he fell to his knees, Ganradou looking down at him coldly.

"No, it is simply a matter of self-preservation Brother. You are to be eliminated and given the least amount of control over our will, Brother. As you would lead us to our destruction… besides you forgot the moral of our oldest ancestor's story… Never trust family." Garandou declared in a whisper before then jerking the knife and twisting it up into the jaw of Yami, the black-knight grasping his brother's wrist and releasing his ax as he began to bleed out. Looking on apathetically as Yami tried in vain to pry his wrist from the knife, Garandou then glanced to a shocked Hikari.

"W-w-what the hell! You, you just stabbed him in the back! Literally!" Hikari shouted at the other aspect as Garandou allowed Yami to fall to the ground and watched as his darkest-aspect slowly bled to death at his feet with a dull expression on his face.

"Actually it's his throat or neck, not the back…" Garandou noted dryly and Hikari twitched while glaring at his fellow aspect. "And besides that, we are an Assassin, and Yami is a heavy warrior. Thus I am at a disadvantage when facing him up front and personal. Therefore it is only logical that I attack him when his back is turned and it is least expected, lest I provoke retaliation from him." Garandou replied with that same dull monotone, only for his eyes to turn purple as a red mist flowed out of Yami and into both him and Hikari. The red mist caused Hikari's eyes to turn a strange reddish green color before he lunged at Garandou and started to swing his swords at him.

"Would you stop talking like everything has to be logical and well thought out? People aren't machines, people aren't logical, and you can't always predict what they'll do! And you certainly can't just go around killing them when they don't fit in with your damn plans!" Hikari shouted at the other aspect while wildly swinging his swords, Garandou expending the least amount of energy possible by moving slightly to either side to avoid the blades, then striking out with a palm to his chest. Hikari rolled back from the surprisingly powerful strike and then glared up at the white haired aspect as he walked forward and looked down at him dully.

"Calm yourself brother, Yami has not completely ceased to exist. He was merely the incarnation of our darker emotions, when I destroyed him he was divided up between us, and given the least amount of quarter in our will." Garandou explained and then moved to the side as Hikari tried to rush him, only to stumble and roll forward. Shaking his head at this, Garandou then walked towards where Hikari was and knelt down to give him a rather flat look. "Now then, are you going to stop and listen, or do I have to actually hurt you?" Garandou questioned and Hikari tried to run him through once more, only for the crowned aspect to quickly grab him by the wrist and throw him over his shoulder and onto his back.

"Ouch… didn't Sylvanas-Hime pull that move on us before?" Hikari questioned and Garandou shrugged while placing a foot on his chest to hold him down.

"Yes… yes she did. Now listen to me. What I did was necessary, if Yami had continued to exist he would've driven us towards revenge, yes we desire revenge, however as he's our most negative aspects he would've focused so solely on that that he'd get not only us, but those we care for hurt along the way… possibly even destroy Konoha completely if he felt it was a threat to his plans." Garandou stated and saw Hikari calm slightly, then stare at his dull brother strangely.

"Okay… I… I guess that makes sense. But why do you want me to be in more control than him then? I'm all good, kindness compassion and such… won't that sort of work against any kind of revenge we go after?" Hikari questioned and Garandou nodded his head with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Indeed it would brother, but only if you were in complete control. With me in command, we will have a focused reasonable agenda. I am Order, however I need you two in order to be human, I need Chaos, the ability to change and grow with the things around me, rather than to stagnate and decay as time goes forward. Order is truly death, Life is Chaos, and as such, I require that you both continue to exist, so I might change and grow as I go forward. I will still seek vengeance, however, your compassion shall temper Yami's hatred and allow me to do so without fear of the Darkness." Garandou continued to explain in that same dull tone while removing his foot from Hikari and backing away from him as he got back to his feet.

"So what now?" Hikari questioned while rubbing his chest and Garandou closed his eyes in thought for a moment.

"Now I ask you a question, and based on your answer I will either destroy you and absorb your essence as I did with Yami, or we shall merge peacefully." Garandou responded in that same eternal monotone before crossing his arms behind his back. "Tell me, do you really have the conviction to be Overlord? Can you murder, can you destroy, and can you do what needs to be done for the Dark Races to survive? No matter how far it pushes you towards hell? No matter how many innocent children you leave as orphans, no matter how many lives you ruin, no matter how many bodies you must crawl over, no matter what they call you… can you live that life?" Garandou questioned of Hikari and the light Aspect would've said something before his eyes fell and he bowed his head.

"No… I can't." He replied and Garandou nodded his head before walking forward and placing a hand on his brother aspect's shoulder.

"Then you know what must be done here, not only for our revenge, but also for the good of the Dark Races, who deserve a chance to live without fear of the Light…" Garandou stated and Hikari solemnly nodded his head in agreement before giving a slight smile to his brother aspect.

"You know… I'm glad I didn't have to fight you… I'd never win." He stated quietly before walking forward and glowing a bright emerald green in color, as he then became a part of Garandou like Yami had before him. Closing his eyes as Hikari did, a slight smile crossed Garandou's face under his mask as his form shimmered for a second before a pair of large dragonic wings suddenly stretched out from his back…

Taking a breath, Garandou then brought his arms up and crossed them over his chest as his wings began to wrap over his form. "As am I, Hikari." The aspect whispered as his body began to glow brightly and he raised his hands into the air before shining brightly. _**"Now Chaos and Order shall stand together! Our will is complete! Our mind in balance! Now and forevermore, I am The Overlord!**_ Garandou exclaimed loudly as he changed and the familiar form of Naruto now stood in his place. Opening his eyes, the blond haired Overlord-in-training then narrowed them as he turned towards the beast in the cage at the side of the arena.

"Now for you…" He growled out lowly while marching towards the beast and it merely grinned towards him as he approached.

"**Yes, you have done well, young Overlord. Now come to me and we can…"** The beast started to say before Naruto narrowed his eyes and held out a hand before slowly closing it, the cage the beast was in slowly shrinking as he did. **"What treachery is this!"** The beast demanded while the blond haired youth walked forward with narrowed eyes.

"This is _**my**_ mind, this is _**my**_ world, _**I'm**_ in the one who's in control here, and so right now, _**I'm**_ Kami-Sama, Beast!" Naruto declared while the beast widened his eyes as the youth then snapped his fingers, changing the body of the creature into a formless red mass of energy in a vaguely humanoid shape with a collar with the Kanji for seal around its neck. "And right now, I want to know what the hell you are, and why the hell you're in my mind!" Naruto growled out while stalking towards the creature, it roaring as it lunged at him.

"**Don't think you can push me around like that Ningen (Mortal)!"** The beast roared out at the blond while swinging one of its hands at him, only for Naruto to scowl and form a barrier that sent the beast flying back. **"What the hell… that actually hurt!"** The beast declared with no small amount of shock as it looked towards where the blond was now scowling down at it.

"In here, perception is power, if I perceive that you're in pain, then guess what, you're in pain bitch!" Naruto shouted at the beast angrily and it growled at him furiously for the insult while getting back up. However a mere second later, two hands and arms made of earth reached out of the ground and wrapped around the beast's body. "I would suggest that you don't try to attack me again, it won't be good for your continued existence. In here it doesn't matter how powerful you are, it's my mind, my imagination lets me make whatever I want into reality… so just who the hell are you" The blond haired youth noted darkly while the being shook its head and looked at him with a growl.

"**I am, The Kyuubi no Youko! And your blasted Yondaime sealed me within you when I attacked your village twelve years ago…"** The creature responded and the blond haired youth raised a brow before humming lightly. **"But listen to me, I have information you'll need young Overlord… and a deal for you as well!"** The beast then said and the blond gave it a glare before rolling his eyes.

"Exactly what information could you possibly have that I would want?" Naruto questioned and the beast chuckled darkly.

"**Simple boy, there was a man who released me from your mother, the previous one to hold me, it was by that man's actions that she died on the day you were born, and a Minion named Mortis was forced to revive her to care for you… had that not happened, Mortis would have revived your mother when The Betrayer came around and killed her."** The Kyuubi replied and Naruto's eyes flashed a bright fiery crimson before glaring at the beast.

"And exactly who is this man?" Naruto demanded furiously and the Kyuubi chuckled slightly before turning stone serious.

"**I told you there is a deal for that information… I want a body, and no I don't mean my freedom, I mean a **_**real**_** body! If I were to ever form a body outside of this seal, I would become a mindless rampaging beast! I want a body, I want to be free to be me, I want to be able to walk around, I want to live and experience all that life has to offer, not the mindless extremes of rage I am currently limited too! In exchange for your word to build me a body and allow me to help you kill that man, I will forever be your servant and tell you that mans name…"** The Kyuubi offered and Naruto raised a brow for a moment before frowning deeply.

"So you would trade being within a prison for slavery, seems like a poor bargain for you beast… I gain a powerful servant, the name of an enemy I was unaware of before, and most likely whatever information you can give me… why so generous?" Naruto questioned and the Kyuubi growled out lowly.

"**Can you imagine the hell I've endured? Can you imagine being all but trapped in your own mind, only able to speak or even think within a prison? I can assure you boy, compared to that kind of hell, Slavery is a small piece of heaven."** The Kyuubi replied and Naruto raised a brow for only a moment before deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Fine then, what is the name of my enemy?" Naruto questioned of the ancient beast and Kyuubi narrowed its eyes onto him.

"**Uchiha Madara."** He replied and Naruto frown to himself, briefly thinking that the name sounded familiar before shrugging it off.

"We'll discuss the specifics of making you a new body later, for now, I need some rest… this entire experience has been very trying." Naruto then stated while seeming to vanish and leaving The Kyuubi behind within the arena of his mind…

TBC…

Important Characters:

Humans: ?

Minions:

Greys:

Gnarl: Minion-Master.

Doc: Physician.

Browns:

Giblet: Forge Master.

Goby: Captain of The Guard.

Grubber / Grubby: Three Stooges 1 / Digger.

Gubben: Three Stooges 2.

Moldy: Three Stooges 3.

Goblins:

Zim: Male, Insane "Accident Prone" Goblin.

Other:

Naruto: Male, Abyss DragonKin / Overlord.


	6. Preparations

**Disclaimer**: I own anything within; this story is merely a way for me to alleviate boredom…

[Lord Pain: And so we return.

Gnarl: Indeed, sire!

Doc: Where's Giblet?

Gnarl: Oh, since he wouldn't stop speaking before the Master, I tied him up and dropped him in a hole.

Lord Pain: Isn't that a bit extreme?

Doc: Gnarl only deals in extremes…

Gnarl: Shut up Doc! Or I'll bust you back down to Jester!

Lord Pain: Both of you shut up and start the damn fic!

Giblet: At once sire!

Gnarl: How'd you get out of that hole!]

_**NU**_: _**Dark Lord**_ +

_**Chapter 5**_: _**Preparations**_…

"Normal Speech"…

'_Normal Thoughts_'…

[Radio/Tower Heart In Use]…

"**Jutsu In Use**"…

"**Demon Speech**"…

'_**Demon Thoughts**_'…

"_**Inner Spirit Speech**_"…

(?)

The Betrayer lets out a sigh as he finishes his meal and reaches up to wipe his mouth. "Enjoy your meal love?" A seductive voice purred out as a pair of arms wrapped around his shoulders. Turning his head slightly, the ancient Overlord narrows his eyes upon seeing a black haired winged woman.

"**Lilith, what do you want?"** The Betrayer questions while replacing his mask over his face and the succubus looks at him with a frown.

"Is that any way to greet the only person dumb enough to stay with you for this long?" She questions while leaning off of The Betrayer and he grunts while setting fire to the corpse of the unicorn. Frowning afterwards, the Succubus then looks at the armored behemoth with an annoyed look on her face. "And I thought we agreed you would stop drinking Unicorn blood… that's freaky enough, but it rots your body away when you do as well." Lilith noted while giving a pointed look to the armored warrior and he grunted while pushing himself up to his feet.

"**I'm weakening Lilith, I need to feed or I'll die, remember."** The betrayer growled at the succubus and she merely rolled her eyes.

"Just put some of your body-parts into a couple phylacteries and I'll hide them, then go out and possess someone else's body and you'll be back to full strength…" The Succubus stated as if it should be obvious and The Betrayer twitched for a moment before grunting.

"**Those old rituals are very tiring… I'd need somewhere safe to recuperate… plus, those damn phylacteries are an annoying weakness."** The Betrayer reminded the succubus and she rolled her eyes before stretching out her arms and cracking her neck with a light moan of approval.

"And what am I, chopped liver? I can handle a few would-be heroes who might come after you, and as for the phylacteries, my Succubi can hide them all beyond the old Abyss gates." She offered and The Betrayer mentally frowned while reaching up to rub his chin thoughtfully. The idea was very tempting, plus it'd solve the problem of his eternally rotting body and immortal soul… but the phylacteries were still such a glaring weakness! Even if it was more than one, it'd be an extremely annoying weakness as all anyone would have to do was destroy each of them and he was permanently gone…

"**Just because I trust you, within reason, doesn't mean I trust your Succubi…"** The betrayer retorted with a frown in his tone and the succubus pouted for a moment before smirking.

"Then have your wraiths hide them for you…" She offered and the armored behemoth blinked before mentally slapping himself, also wondering how far his brains had rotted for him to forget about his army of undead wraiths…

"**Fine, but we'll need somewhere to prepare for the ritual."** The Betrayer reminded and Lilith smirked as she followed the behemoth into a flaming portal, both vanishing in a flash of fire…

(Goblin Keep…)

Gnarl stroked his Goatee as he walked around the main-chamber of the Goblin Fortress his master and the flame Unseelie had taken. _'The master acquiring the Flame Unseelie was most fortuitous, with them and the Steel Smelter the Goblins have, we'll be able to forge the master some actual weapons.'_ Gnarl decided while ringing his hands for a moment and chuckling to himself, Naruto himself sleeping in a nearby chair after being synched with the Overlord-Heart. _'I wonder what kind of Overlord he'll be, it's never easy to tell, and sometimes it just seems sort of random…'_ Gnarl wondered while watching the blond haired youth as he slept silently, and then turned to where Tak was lounging in a chair, arms crossed behind her head.

"Why aren't you doing something useful? You're the one who wanted to be a servant to The Overlord and yet here you are just lazing about like a good for nothing slug!" Gnarl declared loudly with a frown and the Half-goblin-girl gave him a rather pointed look in response.

"Exactly what do you expect me to do then?" She questioned of the Grey Minion and he blinked for a moment before muttering under his breath.

"Never mind, I forgot we don't have a true base of operations just yet…" Gnarl grumbled out while then stroking his goatee and snapped his fingers. "But for now, could you go collect those Goblins that aided us in taking down the chiefs, I want to have a word with them." Gnarl then ordered and Tak gave a slight salute as she lazily got up and walked out of the room. Grumbling under his breath, Gnarl then started to tap his chin thoughtfully as he considered what he should do next. While he was glad Naruto was now synched with the Tower-Heart and he could feel his thoughts, he wanted his young master to have more spells to use in combat before moving out to the Orcs.

"Yes… but the only spells I know how to teach him are Lightning Whip and Fireball…" Gnarl noted to himself with a frown since Naruto had said he didn't want to use Overlord-Objects to learn spells, which limited what their master would learn until they found some actual magic-users. Turning when he heard a grunt, Gnarl then grinned upon seeing his master waking up, a hand on his head as he sat forward. "Ah, Master it is good to see you! We have much to do." Gnarl stated while the blond haired youth blinked his eyes open for a moment before leaning back into his seat.

"Urgh… Gnarl we have a problem…" Naruto grunted out and saw his minion-master raise a brow in confusion. "It seems a man named Uchiha Madara was the one who freed the Kyuubi on the day I was born, and is as such one of the direct causes of my mothers death, not to mention this means he's one of our more dangerous enemies in the Shinobi Nations." Naruto explained while rubbing his aching skull and a deep frown crossed Gnarl's face as he reached up and rubbed his chin with a scowl.

"Most distressing news, sire…" Gnarl admitted with a deep frown forming across his face as he paced before the young Overlord in training. "I had hoped we'd have more time, but it appears our enemies are amassing on all sides. We need to hurry and rebuild our empire if we are to possibly survive this coming war!" Gnarl declared and then rubbed his chin for a moment as he considered their options. However the old Minion-Master then snapped his fingers and motioned to the Overlord-Heart, Naruto following his gaze and raising a brow upon seeing a strange stone pillar that was about three feet tall and covered with yellow symbols.

"But before anything else, I believe I should give you a run down of a few Overlord Objects we've acquired. First, the Tower-Heart has given you a Minion-Totem sire, allowing you to control Ten minions!" Gnarl declared before motioning to a second pillar, this one identical to the first save for the fact it had blue symbols. "The Goblins also seemed to have found a Mana-Pillar Sire, allowing you to use more magic! Which will aide us in teaching it too you." Gnarl explained and Naruto slowly nodded his head in understanding. "Also, the Goblins had our Steel Smelter, Sire, so we'll now be able to make you some personal armor and weapons!" Gnarl finished explaining as he watched the young Overlord reach up and remove the crown the Unseelie had given him.

"Think you can refine this or something? The Unseelie somehow managed to make it after Kori became my familiar." Naruto asked while holding out the crown and Gnarl walked over to him and took it from his grasp. Looking the crown over for a few moments, Gnarl clicked his tongue before slowly nodding his head.

"Yes, it seems fairly well done considering how it was made, but I'll have Giblet push it through the Smelter anyways, he should be able to lighten it a bit and smooth out the metal for you to wear it more comfortably, and maybe add an enhancement or two." Gnarl mused while looking at the crown and Kori poked suddenly her head out of Naruto's scarf with a yawn. "Huh, oh right you have an Flame-Unseelie as a familiar, this is most wonderful sire! You'll be able to use that Unseelie as a scout, and she'll also be able to enhance any Fire Magic you use." Gnarl noted while Kori blinked her eyes open and then spotted Gnarl, then raised a brow when she saw him.

"Who is that elderly Goblin? He is too old to be doing the wandering around, yes? And why is he having your crown, milord?" Kori wondered aloud and Gnarl twitched violently, Naruto snickering to himself as he could practically see Gnarl grinding his teeth from annoyance.

"That's Gnarl, he's Minion master and my advisor, he has my crown because he thinks we can enchant it." Naruto replied and the tiny Unseelie crossed her arms over her chest before yawning tiredly.

"Oh, that is acceptable." She decided while rubbing at her eyes and Naruto turned and motioned for Gnarl to go on. Grumbling about rude Unseelie for a moment, the aging Minion Master then stashed Naruto's crown into his cloak while making a mental note to take it to Giblet later.

"Yes… well. For the moment we'll need to set up shop here in the Goblin Keep, at least until we find a more permanent dwelling, however the Goblins do have all the rune stones and gems needed to enhance the crown, but I won't go over all the little details. In the meantime we have other things you should do." Gnarl noted aloud and then stopped when he heard several footsteps approaching them. "First of all you should meet your Goblin Allies, afterwards I shall start teaching you what I can of magic, and then we should head out and meet up with the Orc Leader to forge an alliance with them." Gnarl declared and Naruto shrugged his shoulders, deciding to let Gnarl figure things out until he knew how to run an empire.

A second later the two heard Tak walking in with a couple more Goblins, two non-descript males in red, a female in red, a female in purple, a short pudgy goblin with an auburn Mohawk, and last was a Goblin that was taller than even Tak! The tall male was actually a full head taller than Tak with pale green skin and a scar over his right eye, like her he seemed more "Human" in some way as his features weren't as sharp as an average male's. He was wearing an outfit similar to Tak's, having the same boots and a similar shirt, only the shirt was a striped white with a [Z?] on the front, a pair of red goggles covering his eyes, his black hair was slicked back into spikes, with a pair of fingerless black gloves, a bandoleer with a black pauldron on his right shoulder, and a brown belt with a pouch hanging at his side.

"Alright Gnarl, here are the others who worked with me to take down the chiefs… Skutch, Larb, Tenn, Zee, Skoodge, and my brother Echo." Tak explained while nudging to the other Goblins, all but Echo saluting when they approached the young Overlord in training and Minion Master. Nodding his head, Gnarl walked forward and looked over each of the Goblins for a moment before stopping at Echo. Gnarl twitched as he not only had to look up to face him, but idly frowned at how much taller than even Naruto the half-goblin was.

"I see the resemblance…" He mumbled to himself as both Echo and Tak were quite clearly half-breeds given their great size when compared to an average Goblin of any age, not to mention their better than average looks. "Anyways, welcome warriors, now identify yourselves for The Overlord!" Gnarl ordered and the Goblins stood at attention, including Tak and Echo.

"I'm Skutch! Oh almighty Overlord! I'm just a simple Guard!" Skutch declared rather loudly, having a very noticeable sloped forehead, but was otherwise dressed like any of the other Male Goblins with a red uniform with a black mask/collar and loincloth, spiky black helmet, black bandages, and an odd metal plate on his back with a harness.

"I'm Larb! I'm an expert in both making and disarming traps!" Larb declared, being taller than Skutch and with less of a slope to his forehead, but was dressed the same as almost all of the other Male Goblins, sans only Echo.

"I'm T-Tenn! And I'm a Sc-Scout!" The skittish sounding female declared while looking around nervously, being dressed in a sleeveless red leather segmented shirt as long as a dress, with a black loincloth and garters barely visible underneath that, black bandages over her hands / forearms and feet / shins, a spiked helmet with antenna on it, and a pair of cute pigtails poking out of it, a black facemask formed out of her collar, and a harness over her shoulders with a familiar metal plate on her back.

"I'm Zee! Head Medic!" Zee, the purple eyed female Goblin, declared and was dressed like Tenn, only her segmented leather dress was purple and her curly black hair was allowed to hang loose, her mask also being opened up unlike the skittish Goblin girl.

"I'm Skoodge! I'm just an average soldier…" The tubby Goblin explained while rubbing the back of his head, dressed in an average uniform for his station.

"I'm Echo! I'm an engineer, specializing in siege weapons, most types of heavy machinery, and even certain types of weapons like Viral Tanks and Thrashers… but the chiefs thought my time was better spent working on drills and the like so I haven't been making any thrashers or tanks for a while." Echo explained to the two, Gnarl grinning widely at that tidbit while Naruto tilted his head in confusion.

"What's a Viral Tank, or even a Thrasher for that matter?" The blond questioned of his Minion-Master with a raised brow and Gnarl chuckled darkly.

Originally, the weapon known as a "Tank" had started out as little more than a mobile armored ballista. Orc's would push and reload the things while Goblins fired it, with later models being rigged to reload and fire off bolts on their own. And while at the time they had been innovative, it wasn't exactly safe as speedy elves and the like would always manage to get close enough to blow them up. Later models were built with a total shell around them, however proved less useful as they were harder to lug around and turn. The next version had been even worse, as though it could turn, they couldn't move it, because the wheels built into them weren't sturdy enough to sustain the weight.

A side developed weapon was a thrasher, a mobile woodcutter / weapon with numerous saw blades that could cut and chop through most forested areas easily. Thrashers were originally pushed by Orcs like the Tank's had been, however they were much lighter and faster than physically chopping numerous tress down. Later thrashers were equipped with an engine and even electricity to allow them to work practically on their own, and at all hours of the day, without an orc pushing it, and with only one goblin needed to drive the things. Some thrashers were modified to include crossbows and the like for more long-range combat, and a few were designed more for transport or towing than they were for being weapons.

Also, because the Goblins' creed just happened to be "Bigger is Better" this had led to several larger models of Tanks being built. Eventually, an engineer had put a Cannon onto an older mobile station and then had used it as a new tank. It like the other older models had been cursed by an extremely high weight, as even Orcs, Trolls, and Ogres couldn't move it speedily. So for years, Tanks had been worthless in most forms of combat save for as siege weapons. It wasn't until years later that a Goblin Engineer had the bright idea to put the cannon and heavy armored shell onto a Thrasher. It had been much more mobile, and afterwards, Goblin engineers had managed to modify that original design into lighter, yet more dangerous, "Viral Tanks"…

"Nothing you need to worry about Sire, not for the moment at least…" Gnarl replied while ringing his hands together with a near psychotic grin as he thought of the things they'd be able to do with just a few Viral Tanks and Thrashers. The Shinobi nations really wouldn't know what hit them! And hell, only Azeroth truly had the technology necessary to actually fight back if they got a few of them up and running!

"And I'm Tak, formerly I was the last member of the Chiefs personal Guard. The rest were relegated into the mines. Now I'm one of your servants." Tak explained with a slight wave of one hand and a completely bored look across her face.

"When did she become my servant Gnarl?" Naruto asked with a raised brow and Gnarl grinned nervously while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Tak decided that rather than risk the chance of being turned into a baby maker by some random Goblin male that she'd like to become one of your servants instead, Sire. She even agreed to help us take down the Chiefs in exchange, as I've told you a Goblin Female who is in service to someone outside of a Goblin Tribe is excluded from the traditions and practices of the overall tribe." Gnarl replied and Naruto blinked before looking over to the female with a slight frown on his face.

"Why'd you agree to servitude? I mean while it's clear some fates are worse, wasn't there another way of keeping that from happening?" Naruto questioned as Kyuubi had made a similar deal, albeit in exchange for a body of its very own, it was still selling itself into slavery on its part.

"If you'd ever seen a Goblin Male after a female comes of age, you'd understand, and thank the maker I'm a half-breed or I'd have already hit that point." Tak replied with a slight shudder as she'd seen that kind of thing, although her brother Echo had tried protecting her from it when she was little, and she _**really**_ didn't like what she saw.

"Wait how old are you? You look around my age…" Naruto noted while looking at the female and she snorted seeing she could tell the human boy was definitely older than she was.

"If you mean based on how time passes for a normal human, then I'm about eight human years old…" The Half-Breed replied with a shrug of her shoulders and Naruto gaped towards her incredulously.

"Eight! But you look my age or older!" The blond declared with wide eyes and Tak rolled her eyes and Gnarl decided to explain what was going on.

"Sire, that is due to the fact that at the most a full-blooded Goblin will live for only about fifty years, humans live around eighty to one-hundred at most, so combine the two and Tak's maximum age is around… well… somewhere around seventy years old. Also, Goblins will literally mate like Rabbits, so at an early age they are ready to breed, however Tak as a half-breed won't be physically ready for motherhood for a year or so more…" Gnarl explained while Naruto mentally gaped for a second, then shook his head and reached up to palm his face. A second later however a familiar face in the form of the tiny terror, Zim, appeared busting through the doors with panting breaths.

"My Overlord, wait for Zim!" Zim suddenly screeched while running over and slid to a stop, the Goblins groaning when they saw the Tiny-Terror. "Hey! Milord! My lord! My Overlord! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! My Overlord! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Milord! Hey!" Zim started to declare while waving his arms, Naruto snickering to himself while Gnarl grunted and palmed his face.

"What do you want Zim?" Gnarl questioned flatly while Naruto blinked and watched as Zim grinned widely.

"Hi." He started with a little wave and Gnarl snarled while glaring at the aptly named Tiny-Terror. "Zim was just wondering if the Overlord would require anything of his most loyal and dangerous soldier!" Zim declared and Gnarl reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose while Naruto merely smirked to himself. _'For some reason I can imagine Zim would be the Dobe of the Goblins like I was in Konoha… man, that's kind of depressing actually.'_ Naruto thought to himself while Gnarl glared at Zim with clear annoyance on his face.

"No Zim, we're not doing anything yet… go… do whatever it is you do…" Gnarl ordered flippantly while waving the tiny-terror away and Zim's eyes widened.

"No! But Zim must prove himself to the Overlord! A mighty soldier's blood marches through my veins! Like giant magical rubber pants! The pants command me! Do not ignore my veins!" Zim pleaded loudly while the other Goblins looked like they'd much rather be anywhere else, Gnarl growling as his brow twitched from sheer annoyance of having to deal with the tiny-terror.

"Urgh… we don't have any missions yet Zim! I still need to train the master to properly use a few spells first!" Gnarl shouted at the Goblin and Zim frowned before glaring at the old Minion-Master furiously.

"But that's not fair! Zim desires and deserves a mission! A glorious mission in which Zim can prove his loyalty to The Almighty Overlord once and for all!" Zim declared with a wide grin and then rushed over to Naruto and knelt down with his hands folded together pleadingly. "Please almighty Overlord! A chance to prove myself is all I ask!" Zim declared before hugging Naruto's legs. "Gimme!" He then said and Naruto raised a brow before looking to a now very annoyed Gnarl.

"Stupid Goblin doesn't know how to take no for a bloody answer…" Gnarl grumbled before the proverbial light bulb lit up in his mind and he suddenly grinned towards the Tiny-Terror. "Alright Zim, you can have a mission." Gnarl decided and Zim hopped up with an expectant look on his face as the old minion-master crossed his arms behind his back. "I need you to go up above and start scouting out for information, we need to know what we're dealing with in terms of abilities before we eventually invade the overworld." Gnarl stated and Zim seemed annoyed for a moment before grinning widely as he saluted to Naruto and Gnarl.

"Zim shall do so! Zim shall bring soo much information to his Overlord! And Zim shall make the pig-smellies up above rue the day that they ever met the Almighty Zim!" The Tiny-Terror declared loudly before running off and Gnarl slapped his face with a very annoyed sounding grunt.

"Bloody hell… I didn't tell that little pest to attack people…" Gnarl muttered under his breath before looking to the remaining Goblins with a frown. "All of you but Tak can go back to your usual duties." He stated with a wave of his hand and they scattered as well, Echo briefly looking to Tak worriedly before heading out with the other Goblins as Doc walked into the room with a small clipboard. "Ah Doc, how is the health of the Goblin Horde?" Gnarl questioned of the physician and the other grey frowned while rubbing his chin.

"Not good I'm afraid, some of them have contracted a rather nasty disease, not enough to worry about given how fast Goblins multiply, however I believe it would still be a prudent course of action to go and acquire some medicine all the same, preferably sooner than later as their overall condition could become much worse." Doc replied and Gnarl frowned to himself while reaching up to rub at his chin with a frown.

"Unfortunate… then where would we have to go to acquire such medicine for the Goblins?" Gnarl questioned and Doc thought about it for a long moment before replying.

"Either the Orcs or Naga should have the medicine we need." Doc replied and Gnarl hummed to himself while Naruto leaned his cheek into one of his fists and watched the Minion-Master silently.

"But the Naga haven't traded with us for months… and the orcs were having a problem with their irrigation system last I heard from them. So they might have a food shortage and none of the other races distribute food around the Underworld but the Drow." Tak noted aloud and Gnarl scowled at that tidbit before stroking his goatee and pacing the floor for a moment.

"I see… that could be a rather annoying problem." Gnarl noted more to himself than to anyone and then turned to their physician. "Good work Doc, head back out and do what you can for any injured." Gnarl ordered and Doc saluted before rushing out of the room and the elderly Minion-Master turned to face Naruto. "Well sire, it seems that things a bit worse for us than I had originally believed, but this is nothing that cannot be remedied fairly easily. First of all, I'll start by teaching you some magic that doesn't require a medium like an Overlord Object or Gauntlet." Gnarl stated and Naruto nodded his head before a thought occurred to him.

"Okay that works, but Gnarl, I was wondering… you mentioned the classes of warriors before, however I was wondering if there was an unarmed class I could learn from in case my weapons are destroyed again?" Naruto questioned and Gnarl blinked for a moment before slapping his face with a grimace.

"Oh right, I did forget to mention that class. It's the "Monk" or "Brawler" class, Brawler for Dark Races, it's a class that specializes in unarmed combat or the use of blunt weapons and staves." Gnarl replied and then started to rub his chin while Tak walked over and hopped onto a comfy couch. "I believe I could teach you the basics of Brawler combat, but I'm not exactly the best Minion for that… Giblet on the other hand." Gnarl mused to himself and then glared towards the doorway. "Giblet! Get your lazy carcass up here! The Overlord has need of you!" Gnarl declared loudly and Naruto could swear he started hearing loud crashes and bangs before Giblet ran through the door.

"Sire need me?" Giblet questioned and Naruto blinked upon seeing him wearing a heavy blacksmiths apron, a goggled steel mask, and a pair of thick leather gloves.

"Yes Giblet, the master wishes to learn unarmed Combat as well as how to use magic and you're the best of our very few Brawlers." Gnarl replied and Giblet blinked for a moment, before grinning widely and slamming his tongs into his metal mask in salute. The resounding bang from doing so had Giblet stumbling for a moment before he started rapidly shaking his head and saluting to Naruto with his other hand.

"For de Overlord!" He declared loudly and Naruto mentally rolled his eyes before pushing himself to his feet.

"So what's first Gnarl?" Naruto questioned of his minion-master, Kori silently sitting on his shoulder while trying not to doze off. Clicking his tongue, Gnarl pulled Naruto's crown out of his cloak and handed it over to Giblet.

"First I'll teach you some real magic while Giblet will run your crown through the Steel Smelter, Sire." Gnarl replied while Giblet took the crown and looked it over before stopping at the emerald at the forehead and scratched his head.

"Sire want Giblet keep it black color?" Giblet questioned of the young Overlord and Naruto slowly nodded his head. "Den does sire want Giblet engrave crown?" The Forge-Master then questioned and Naruto raised a brow while wondering why he'd want his crown engraved.

"No…" He offered unsurely and Giblet nodded his head while still looking over the crown and then tossed it up and caught it in his hands.

"Does sire want enhancement?" Giblet asked and Naruto raised a brow before reaching up and rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"What kind of enhancements can you do?" Naruto questioned and Giblet reached up to scratch his head thoughtfully before replying.

"Not sure, Giblet only see few stones for such, but me thinks me can give crown simple Minds Eye enhancement at very least!" Giblet explained to the blond haired Overlord in Training and Naruto reached up and rubbed his chin thoughtfully and then frowned for a moment.

"What does a Minds-Eye enhancement actually do?" Naruto questioned and Gnarl chuckled slightly before walking over to the young Overlord in Training.

"Not much all things considered, but it would boost your control of Mana, allow you to feel the presence of other nearby sentient beings, as well as allow you to project your thoughts when necessary, such as when you can't speak to someone naturally." Gnarl replied and Naruto blinked before nodding his head as he could see how that would be helpful in the future.

"Alright, then do that." Naruto finally replied and Giblet nodded his head before rushing out of the room and Gnarl cleared his throat.

"Very good, excellent choice if I do say so myself, Sire. That should help make our conquest of The Dark-Sanctuary all the easier." Gnarl noted with a nod of his head while Naruto walked down to stand before the old Minion-Master. "Now then sire, we should start with Magic, I know only how to teach you the Fireball and Lightning-whip spells, and we only have a limited amount of time for you to learn them so I hope you're a quick study! Cause we're going to move to meet the Orcs in one week!" Gnarl declared and Naruto smirked as he nodded his head with narrowed eyes, Kori merely watching as this happened… and the young Overlord's training finally began in earnest.

(Konohagakure…)

It had been a week since the announcement of the "death" of Uzumaki Naruto, a full week of many adults celebrating his loss. Currently those who had known the blond best, and a few of his classmates were leaving the graveyard, his modest funeral having only just ended. Not many had actually come, The Ichiraku's, The Sandaime, Iruka, a man with gravity defying silver hair, Inuzuka Tsume and her children, Aburame Shibi and his family, the lone Hyuuga Hinata, Uchiha Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura being the bulk of the group of few mourners.

Ironically, Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura were the only ones still there, a disbelieving look on Sakura's face as it finally hit her. _'He's… he's really gone.'_ She thought while a scowl marred Sasuke's features, several dark clouds hovering in the sky, seemingly threatening the world as they hovered up above. Narrowing his eyes on the grave, Sasuke ignored Sakura as he tried to reason why no one but a few cared that an unknown assailant killed Naruto. _'Someone killed the dobe, and everyone starts celebrating? It doesn't make sense, sure he was annoying, but still… something is wrong here.'_ Sasuke thought to himself before turning and walking out of the graveyard with a deep scowl across his face.

Sakura however just continued to stare for the longest time, still trying to comprehend the loss of the blond knucklehead. Soon shaking her head, the girl started to walk towards her home in something of a daze. The effect of the blond's loss had hit those who knew him pretty hard, Hyuuga Hinata had seemed to retract even further into her shell, Iruka didn't seem to pay attention to class anymore, Sasuke seemed to brood more often, though that was normal, and the Ichiraku's didn't open up shop as often, not to mention charged more. The most significant change however was in The Sandaime, who had started to crack the whip in the village, and all in the village were sure that soon enough all would fear the wrath of their Kage again.

Shaking her head, Sakura let out a sigh as she saw her house, her father Haruno Daisuke silently walking out of their home. "Hi, dad." Sakura offered with a little less enthusiasm than she intended but the dark haired man merely gave a wave, his nose deep in what looked like a file.

"Hi honey, Ayane's inside… I won't be back for a while…" He offered her with a distracted tone before walking off hurriedly towards his job at the AnBu R&D department and Sakura couldn't help a sigh as he left. Not well known in Konoha was that her mother was dead, her father was a workaholic who left them alone to their own devices while only stopping by for sleep, and even then he was rarely home more than an hour. As a result, from an early age Sakura had to look out for and even care for her younger sister Ayane, unfortunately Ayane's personality seemed much _**much**_ more violent of the two when they were little, however that had been tempered into a coldness that could send shivers down anyone's spine…

Slowly walking to her door, and inwardly dreading it, Sakura briefly wondered why she had such an evil little sister. Many said that Ayane was affected by something very bad her dad had cooked up in the R&D department. Others had muttered something about it being the "Demon's" work in some way, though she didn't know whom they had been talking about. Another theory was that Ayane wasn't really a human and was instead a monster that took the shape of a little girl, a theory that Sakura was starting to believe given her sister's very violent and aggressive nature when angered. Others would say it was just from growing up without a mother, and with a neglectful father who did little more than pay the bills and provide them with food… and even then he was sometimes so busy that he actually forgot to go shopping.

Gulping audibly, Sakura opened the door to her home and slowly walked inside, shivering when she saw her sister sitting down and reading a book. Ayane looks like Sakura in many ways, however, she was younger for one, and it was only their facial structure, eye color, and skin-tone that were similar. Ayane's forehead wasn't as large for one, something that had always irked the older girl; her hair was dark purple in color and chin length, her physique was somehow more developed than Sakura's as she didn't starve herself, also unlike Sakura, who was admittedly tall for her age, Ayane was short for her age and more than just a full head shorter than her older sister. Ayane wears a simple black dress, skull necklace, magenta striped leggings, and a pair of fingerless black and grey striped bicep length gloves.

"H-Hi Ayane!" Sakura offered nervously and Ayane lowered her book for only a moment to give her a one eyed glare. However Ayane then dog-eared her page in the book and placed it to the side before looking at her sister with her head tilted to one side.

"Where have you been?" The girl asked boredly, as she really didn't care but it seemed like the correct question to ask.

"I well… I went to Naruto's funeral, remember, I mentioned he died last week." Sakura reminded Ayane and she raised a brow before rolling her eyes and fixing her sister with a rather pointed look.

"Weren't you the one who used to wish he'd leave you alone?" Ayane questioned and Sakura sputtered in the face of that very damning fact. "Also, didn't you always call him annoying?" Ayane continued and Sakura took several breaths while Inner-Sakura decided she'd rather not get involved. Because the last time Inner-Sakura dared speak to Ayane, Sakura had ended up hogtied and about to be torn apart by the younger girls deranged dolls!

You see, also unlike Sakura, or many Shinobi in Konoha for that matter, Ayane had a strange fixation with dolls. The fixation had grown into an obsession after she mentioned it to their father and he'd given her a book on Ninja-Puppets that she read almost religiously. And as a result, after making her first puppet at age six, Ayane had transformed any and all the cuddly and cute little fluffy dolls that their father got for her, into deranged twisted killing machines meant to inflict pain and suffering on any Ayane deemed fit for such a fate. There had been many a time that Sakura had entered into Ayane's room, or even been dragged there, only for those twisted toys to come to life, thanks to several security seals Ayane had researched, and attacked her en masse!

Unfortunately, Ayane's pride and joy, her greatest creation, and the doll / puppet she always kept at her side, was also made in the image of a toy fox. It was little more than a deranged looking Kyuubi Plushy as many called and described it, though with only one tail. It was overly stitched up and somewhat crude in appearance as she'd sewn it's body together, built its framework, designed its hidden weapons and compartments, procured its many blades and weapons with her own allowance, and then constructed the body of the twisted toy all by herself, finishing it with screws for eyes that turned and twisted in their sockets in a disturbing manner whenever she wanted…

"W-Well I was… I mean… you know how I can be! Yeah I said all that but I didn't want him to actually die!" Sakura declared loudly while her sister frowned and the pinkette whimpered as Ayane's fox plush puppet seemed to come to life, crawling up from her hip to hang onto her sister's shoulder via its knife like limbs. The puppet then glared at her, an evil grin formed from sharp metal teeth as it's screw eyes twisted in their sockets, the long flaps meant to mimic the Kyuubi's ears being actually attached to its head via the screws.

"Yeah, I know how you can be… really annoying, now get out of here and leave me alone…" Ayane ordered and Sakura blinked as the girl snapped her fingers, her older sister widening her eyes as the Fox plush puppet seemed to chuckle and a dozen of Ayane's puppets grabbed her from the shadows, some having morphed into twisted mockeries of the cute dolls they had been, before dragging her kicking and screaming up the stairs of their home… and for only a moment Sakura wondered if anyone else had to deal with evil little sisters or their deranged dolls…

At a nearby window, a certain Goblin watches all of this with wide eyes. "That human is frightening… although those are some impressive dolls." Zim decided with a slight shudder as he made a note to try and steal one of her strange dolls / puppets for later study. "But no matter!" Zim then declared with a wide grin on his face and started to ring his hands together. "Now Zim will rain doom down upon the skulls of his doomed enemies! All shall fear the wrath of the almighty Overlord and his greatest servant, The Almighty Zim!" The Goblin declared before grunting as a pan hit his head, knocking him to the ground, with Ayane glaring out at him from the window.

"Shut up! Your voice is stupid!" Ayane shouted at him with her puppet Foxx practically laughing as its head moved in the form of a snicker. Growling as he pulled himself up, Zim snarled while glaring at the home of Ayane and Sakura furiously.

"How dare you strike The Almighty Zim!" The Tiny-Terror roared loudly and then pointed at the window furiously.

"Whiner!" The girl's voice shot back at him with an annoyed tone and the Tiny-Terror twitched while growling low in his throat.

"You will rue this day you foul female Pig-Smelly! Mark Zim's words! You shall rue the day you trifled with the might of the Overlord's Army!" Zim continued to shout towards the home only for Ayane to slam the window open and glare at him once more. Reaching inside for only a moment, the girl then produced a fluffy pink bunny doll that she tossed at Zim, the Tiny-Terror easily dodging it and grinning towards her mockingly.

"Is that all! Do you really think that a mere female's insignificant toy can hurt the Almighty Zim!" The Tiny-Terror demanded and Ayane held out a hand and narrowed her eyes, the bunny doll lying behind Zim suddenly springing up and transforming into a deranged spider like parody of itself. "Ha! Zim laughs at your feeble attempt to harm his almighty countenance! Laugh I tell you Laugh!" Zim declared braggingly, only to scream as the deranged rabbit / spider puppet lunged at him from behind, started to bite on his head, then scurried into the sewers with him flailing and screaming loudly…

"Finally! I thought he'd never shut up!" Ayane declared while slamming the window shut and walked back to her chair and picked her book up, Foxx snickering on her shoulder. _**"Heh, nice one! Next time though, you should rip him apart and bring me his blood! Yes, blood to bathe in! Blood to drink! Blood to cure all that ails you and rid the world of such useless waste!"**_ A deranged voice echoed in Ayane's mind and she blinked before looking to her doll and cut her Chakra strings to it with a deep frown. Watching as it fell onto the couch limply, Ayane attached it to her belt before she then returned to her book and read up on the accomplishments of one of the most well known Puppet makers of Suna… Akasuna no Sasori…

(Dark-Sanctuary…)

A scream echoes throughout the halls of the Goblin Keep, several explosions then sounded, which the many Goblins outside of the keep ignored, then followed it. Within the keep, the new Jester screams as his young Overlord slams him into a wall from a toss. Looking up with a groan, The Jester watches the blond haired youth approach him. The youth still wears a pair of sandals / boots like his old ones, having decided that boots would be too heavy for an assassin, only now they are calf length and black in color. Next is a pair of black pants with the legs rolled up, a belt synched around his waist, a sleeveless black shirt with thickened leather over his shoulders, a pair of thick leather belts around his waist with two pouches at his lower back and a pair of straps hanging down over his thighs from his hips, his red scarf thrown over his shoulders, and leather mask in its place over his lower-face.

Nearby Gnarl stands beside of another Grey, this one wearing a vest with a sash around his waist over his drab brown loincloth, also wearing some rather simple boots and gloves. "Impressive…" Gnarl noted as Naruto grabbed the new Jester by his right leg and dragged him across the room. "Wouldn't you say so, Shin?" The aging Minion-Master questioned with a wide grin, the librarian merely blinking before scratching at his head for a moment.

"I'm not exactly sure Gnarl, from what I've seen the master still has a bit to learn about hand-to-hand combat. I mean, he's fair enough for the moment, but he'll need to adapt and grow as he moves forward in his conquest of the lands if he doesn't want to be destroyed." Shin noted with a nod of his head while Naruto threw The Jester into the air and held his right hand out to the side. Sparks of electricity then gathered in his palm as he swung his arm, a whip of lightning slashing into The Jester and sending him flying away. "However when it comes to using Lightning Whip, he seems to be getting it very quickly…" Shin left hanging and Gnarl nodded his head with a wide grin on his face, happy that the blond had been a fairly quick study.

"Excellent work Master!" Gnarl declared while waddling over to the young Overlord with Shin at his side. "Your progress is truly astounding! But you shouldn't forget your Fireball spell merely because of how well you've gotten the hang of the Lightning Whip Spell." Gnarl reminded and Naruto slowly nodded his head before looking over to the groaning jester and feeling a brief bit of pity for him. The Jester had been beaten on far more than he wanted, and while Gnarl always said it was okay or that it didn't matter, the blond couldn't help but feel bad for him…

"Maybe Jester's had enough for today…" Naruto noted mostly to himself and Gnarl waved that off with an amused smirk. He was aware that Naruto wasn't as evil as a majority of his ancestors had been in the past; in fact, he was practically their polar opposite! However he did have the bloodline, not to mention the drive, that would make him into a competent Overlord, which was more than Gnarl could say for the Overlord who was crushed by a random boulder, or the one who was actually disintegrated by his own damn spell…

"Yes well, there are other ways to practice, and have you remembered to train with your familiar a little, Sire?" Gnarl questioned of the blond and Naruto nodded his head, Kori poking her head out of his scarf and blinking. "Good, then show us what you two have come up with, when using the Fireball spell." Gnarl stated and Naruto nodded his head before looking over to Shin, the librarian quickly running over to The Jester and dragging him away.

"Th-thank you sire…" He said dizzily as he was taken away and a different grey dressed in the typical Minion-Equipment, save for having a black scarf wrapped around his head like a mask, jumped out of the shadows and set up a piece of paper with a target on the far wall. Quickly moving to Gnarl and Shin's side, the new Grey then folded his legs under himself and watched their master. Naruto himself raised his right arm and formed a fireball into his palm; Kori quickly flew and spun around his forearm, creating a band of fire around it. Throwing his arm forward, Naruto grunted as a large fireball was sent flying from his palm and into the far-wall, setting nearby objects aflame from the heat of his fireball.

"That was wonderful, Sire!" Gnarl declared while Shin and the hooded grey nodded their heads in agreement. "Now we are ready to move to the Orc lands and negotiate a treaty with them!" Gnarl declared with a grin before stopping suddenly and rubbing his chin for a moment. "Espio! Go fetch the master his armor and crown from Giblet! Then find Tak and have her report to the main room!" Gnarl shouted and the now dubbed Espio silently nodded his head before lunging into the shadows and seemed to melt away into darkness…

"He has got to teach me how he does that…" Naruto stated while looking to where Espio had been, Kori giggling to herself before flying into his scarf and sitting down on his shoulder.

"Perhaps later, Sire, for now we simply need to wait for Espio and Tak to arrive." Gnarl stated while Naruto nodded his head and walked over to where he usually sat and picked up his flame Gauntlet. While he'd long learned how to use the basic Fireball spell himself, the gauntlet allowed him to use other variations of Fireball like the firework spell he used when he fought the Poison Unseelie. While he could still imagine using that spell, it seemed the gauntlet had the true spell-work enchanted into it to allow him to use any form of fire based magic, meaning he'd have to learn how to use the Fireworks, Flame-Shield, Fire-Surge, and Flamethrower spells all on his own.

Sighing as he flexed his hand in the glove for a moment, Naruto then considered all he had learned in the passed week. Giblet had taught him the basics for the Brawler combat style, but while he knew those basics, he was still trying to find his own way of using the unarmed abilities allowed to Brawlers. Tenn had gone back over the basics of scouting with him, even though he'd already known more than enough about it himself thanks to Sylvanas teaching him when he was younger, it had been decided for him to brush up on his basic skills. After which Larb had helped him brush up on setting and disabling traps, which he'd actually learned a smidge about in the Shinobi Academy, though admittedly not too much.

Other than those bits of brushing up, Naruto had been strictly working on his spell-craft. Such as attempting to use a Plasma based spell, which ended with him flying into a wall from the force of the spell and nearly melting his hands, which had Gnarl forbidding Doc from showing him or explaining to him about any spells the prior Overlords had used in the past, at least until he had both more Mana or more control over what he already had. However, thanks to a little help from Kori, Naruto had managed to learn the Flamethrower spell as well as Fireball, but his Lightning spells were limited to the basic Lightning Whip, since Gnarl refused to teach him any of the higher tier spells, as they required a greater mental fortitude.

"Sire!" Giblets voice cried out and Naruto looked to the door as it opened, Tak walking in with Espio and the Forge-Master. "Me has crown ready!" Giblet declared loudly while holding out the crown, which was still an obsidian color, the green gem was still stationed at the forehead, and besides the smooth look to the metal and two red gems pointing outwards over the green one, it didn't really appear any different. Walking over to Giblet and taking the object, Naruto slipped it on and felt a brief pulse, his body swaying as he was suddenly able to feel everyone in the room.

"Whoa… that is so freaky." Naruto mumbled while Giblet then took Naruto's enhanced armor from Tak and Espio and laid it out, along with a shield and two short-swords. "More new-equipment?" Naruto asked his forge-master and the minion nodded his head with a grin on his face, hidden behind his steel mask.

"Yes Master! Me and gobies makes it special for de' Overlord!" Giblet replied and Naruto raised a brow before kneeling down and picking up the first piece of armor. Which was merely a black leather waist-cincher with a harness attached and segmented metal plates where his spine would be, two straps for tightening it around the waist, red-chain-mail hanging from the back, and a red loincloth from the front.

"This seems kind of pointless…" Naruto mumbled for a moment before blinking when he felt how tough the leather was. Pulling on it for a moment, Naruto was surprised by the amount of resistance it offered before humming lightly. Deciding to look at the rest, Naruto found what appeared to be segmented rings that formed into sharp claws at the ends, one for each finger and even his thumbs attached to a simple black glove.

"D'ose are for hand to hand combat, Sire. You wears dem under you gauntlets!" Giblet explained and Naruto nodded his head, seeing how they could be useful. Looking to his only normal gauntlet, Naruto saw it was a thick leather fingerless glove with a metal plate strapped to the back and steel knuckles. He also noticed his Overlord gems were still in manacle like bracelets, and hadn't changed since he'd last seen them. And finally was the greaves, which were leather like the gauntlets, only they were designed with a metal instep guard as well as the plate over the front of his shins.

"Nice… this seems a little better than my old armor." Naruto noted more to himself than anyone else. He also spotted his new Shield, which was a simple Buckler shield with two straps inside it for holding it to his arm. A bandoleer with a single pauldron on the right side and straps to hold two swords, and two basic steel short-swords that were designed like a pair of Tanto. "So is this all my new equipment then, Giblet?" Naruto questioned of the brown minion and the Forge-Master silently nodded his head.

"Indeed it is Sire, at least until we reach the Drow, they have better armor for Assassins and Monks than any other Dark Race." Gnarl responded from behind Naruto and the blond haired youth hummed for a moment while looking at his armor with a deep frown on his face.

"Well in any case, we have more important things to do than stand around here, right Gnarl?" Naruto quipped with a slight smile as he crossed his arms, Kori flying out of his scarf and into the air with a yawn. Grinning to himself, Gnarl walked forward and motioned to Espio and Shin, the two Grey Minions lunging at Naruto's armor and equipment and quickly pulling it on for the blond, starting with the waist-cincher, before pulling his two large belts / pouches back on over it.

"Indeed, Master! There is much work to be done!" Gnarl declared with a grin as Shin and Espio then pulled the blond's greaves on over his sandals and lower pant legs. "There are enemies to destroy, allies to bring under our banner, an entire kingdom to build!" Gnarl declared as Shin and Espio slipped Naruto's gauntlet off, slipped his new claws on, and then pulled both gauntlets and his Overlord-Gem-Bracelets on over them. Finally, they affixed Naruto's new shield onto his left-forearm, then slipped the bandoleer over his torso and the pauldron onto his right shoulder. "How does it feel Sire? To know the true power of your ancestors?" Gnarl then questioned with a grin and Naruto clinched his fist, his Overlord Gem glowing brightly as he did, while Espio and Shin sheathed his two blades onto his back in an X, and slipped his scarf back on around his neck.

"Actually Gnarl, it feels pretty good." The blond haired youth responded while then crossing his arms and looking to his Minion-Master. Kori chose that moment to return to his scarf and slip in without notice, the little faerie more or less having slept for the majority of the time he'd known her. "So how do I get to the Orcs?" He questioned and Gnarl grunted while stroking his Goatee and waddling towards the exit, Naruto looking to Tak for an explanation but the half-breed merely shrugged before following after him. Gnarl silently waddled away for a long while before letting out a slight grunt as they passed the gates of the Goblin Keep, Goby saluting alongside Skutch.

"Telling you what direction to go in would be pointless sire, I'll be following you on this mission along with Tak." Gnarl responded and Naruto frowned while looking to the aging Minion-Master and briefly worrying for his health. It couldn't be good for such an elderly minion to be running all around the Underworld after all, no matter how strong he might've been in the old days he'd clearly long since passed his prime.

"Why?" Naruto questioned while trying not to sound too concerned as he could very easily tell that Gnarl was the prideful type.

"Because I'll be doing all the actual negotiations for you, Sire. That is unless you'd rather try to do it yourself." Gnarl responded in kind and Naruto shook his head, well aware he wasn't experienced enough for that kind of thing yet. "Now, as for why Tak is coming, she's going to be the one doing the driving and leading. But first of all we need to get to the tunnel that actually leads to the Orcs." Gnarl mused to himself while tapping his chin and then turned to look at Tak with a frown. "Tak, you lead the way." Gnarl ordered and she muttered something under her breath before walking ahead of them and leading the Overlord and Minion across the Goblin City. Looking around as they walked through the city, Naruto blinked when he saw several large glowing crystal orbs floating around the place.

"What are those?" Naruto questioned and Tak gave him an almost incredulous look in response to the query.

"You've never seen a simple Glow-Orb before?" She all but demanded and Naruto mentally twitched before giving the half-breed a flat look.

"No… because I'm an orphan for one, and for another, where I lived we didn't have several things like you guys do…" Naruto grumbled out at her and she blinked before looking away and feeling rather foolish. Gnarl however snickered to himself for a moment before clearing his throat.

"Yes well, forgive Tak, Sire. Glow-Orbs are one of the oldest and the simplest, magical artifacts a person can create. Even Shamans can make them, as all they really are is pure magical energy channeled into a sphere. Most races use them as a cheap efficient light source. However in certain places, such as the sewer, it is better to have a different kind of lighting. Glow-Orbs are known to cause more prominent Shadows, and in the Sewers, this could easily get a person lost." Gnarl explained to the young Overlord-In-Training and he slowly nodded his head with a hum while looking at the spheres.

"Could I learn to make some, and can you make them in colors other than blue?" Naruto asked the aged Minion-Master with a curious tone, the old Minion-Master gently stroking his Goatee as he thought about it.

"Very easily actually, and yes, they can be created in other colors, but blue is the most common because its the color that raw-mana takes in its most natural form." Gnarl explained to the Overlord-In-Training with a slight shrug, and Naruto looked to the next Glow-Orb they passed with a thoughtful frown. Idly, he thought the spheres were very interesting for more than a few reasons, the most prominent being that they were apparently very easy to make, and he wondered if you could possibly turn them into an attack. This thought stayed with him, and the blond decided to voice his question to the old Minion-Master.

"Has anyone ever thought to make a spell that makes a sphere you can shoot or push into an enemy then?" Naruto questioned while crouching next to Gnarl slightly, still walking in the direction Tak was going.

"Arcane-Blast Sire, the most basic of all projectile spells, from its basic workings were all other forms of Projectile Magic formed. It's merely a sphere of Mana built up in the hands before being projected outwards." Gnarl responded with a slight shrug and Naruto blinked before raising a brow as he stood back up.

"Then why didn't you know how to teach me that spell?" Naruto questioned curiously and Gnarl chuckled nervously while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Actually sire, you technically already do, all you need do is remove the fire-portion of Fireball… but I don't know how to do that myself. And besides that, Arcane Blast is the weakest of all Projectile Spells." Gnarl replied with a shrug, Tak rolling her eyes before glancing back at the Overlord-In-Training. Naruto himself merely crossed his arms and closed his eyes with a thoughtful frown on his face. Removing the fire from Fireball sounded easy enough, at least when spoken like that, however Naruto suspected that it was much harder to actually attempt such a feet than just removing fire. He wasn't sure how, as he didn't know how to easily manipulate elements yet, and he couldn't really feel out the difference between Fire-Magic and Non-Fire-Magic…

"Why are you so interested in such a weak spell, Sire? I mean, even most Goblin Shamans can use Arcane Blast, and that alone says how easy it is to use." Tak noted and Naruto looked at her for a moment before humming in thought once more.

"I was wondering if I could apply Lightning-Magic to it instead of Fire…" Naruto finally admitted and Gnarl nodded his head, the blond humming once more before the three approached a large metallic vehicle.

"That's Lightning-Bolt sire, another basic projectile spell." Gnarl then said and Naruto blinked for a moment before pouting when he realized he wasn't the first one to come up with the idea. _'I wonder how many spells there are, and how many have already been made that I could come up with on my own?'_ The blond haired youth wondered to himself before finally noticing the metallic vehicle. As they approached it, it tore Naruto from his thoughts and his eyes widened upon seeing the vehicle.

"What the hell is that thing?" He then demanded as the vehicle had many large black-ish colored vehicle has vertical saw-blades at the front, with two large horizontal saws folding out from the sides, treads rather than wheels, and a segmented armored carapace with several thin triangular holes and three rows of sharp looking backward pointing spikes along it's length, with twin green shaded triangle shaped windows at the front, and four pipes sticking out of the back.

"That Sire, is a Thrasher. A Goblin invented carrier vehicle slash Siege weapon designed to cut down both trees, and enemies." Gnarl replied with an even grin on his face while Tak walked to the vehicle and did something at it's back. Near instantly the segmented carapace folded forward to reveal the interior of the strange vehicle, which she quickly slipped into. Blinking for a moment, the blond Overlord-In-Training looked to Gnarl with a raised brow.

"Then why are we here?" Naruto questioned of the old Minion-Master and Gnarl grinned up at his master with glee. Honestly, Gnarl always loved Thrashers, even more than tanks, not because they were bigger or better, but because they were faster and sliced through dozens of enemies easily. And what could be more fun that running over enemies and shredding them to bits?

"A Thrasher is the fastest way into The Orc Caverns until I set up a series of Waypoint gates down here, Sire." Gnarl explained with a smirk as he shuffled into the machine with barely concealed glee and Naruto followed behind him unsurely. In all honesty, the Goblin's machines tended to scare Naruto, some of them were shoddily built and even fell apart really easily.

"This thing is safe… right?" Naruto questioned of Tak who was pressing a few buttons and pulling some levers. The carapace folding back down while she smirked and twisted a knob, the engine of the machine starting up and smoke billowing out near the back of the device.

"Just hang on tight and you'll be fine, Sire." Tak offered the young Overlord while pulling on a lever, the Thrasher lurching forward for a second as she then lowered the vertical saw-blades and retracted the horizontal ones. The Thrasher then shot forward with surprising speed, nearly throwing Naruto back as he grabbed onto Tak's seat and Gnarl grinned widely. "You're really enjoying this aren't you?" Tak questioned casually while Naruto held onto Tak's seat for dear life, while very clearly shaking all over. Looking up to Tak with a giddy expression on his face, The Minion-Master grinned widely to the Half-Breed Goblin-Girl.

"I've always wanted to ride in a Thrasher… the only thing wrong is there's no one in front of us to mince!" Gnarl admitted while looking around excitedly as Naruto just held on with wide eyes as they moved through the tunnels of the underworld and the blond moved to one of the strange openings in the carapace of the Thrasher to look outside of the vehicle. What he saw was a large expanse of tunnels and caves converging together, numerous Thrashers towing large carts with precious gems darting here and there, while devices with enormous drills were burrowing further into the rock and dirt that composed the entire Underworld.

"Just how many of these things do Goblins have? And how has no one ever noticed the racket they're making?" Naruto demanded loudly over the booming sounds of construction and work outside, Gnarl laughing loudly as he was enjoying this trip in the Thrasher a little too much.

"Humans find us all the time, my father was a Human for crying out loud, The Drow or Orcs use the racket we make to lure curious humans down here then enslave them. My mother built the irrigation system the Orcs use to grow produce, so they gave her my father in payment." Tak shouted over the sounds of drilling and burrowing and Naruto's eyes shot wide open before deciding he didn't want to know more as they turned into a different tunnel, the lights only coming once every so often.

"How can you see to drive this crazy thing? Everything looks pitch black to me…" Naruto noted as he leaned forward and Tak rolled her eyes once more while reaching over and flipping a switch, causing a light to somehow unfold from the front of the Thrasher and light their way.

"That's how." Tak responded rather pointedly while Gnarl merely grinned as they approached the mouth of a cave. Passing through it, Tak then looked at a few dials and gauges in the Thrasher before turning some knovs. "Hold on, we're almost there." Tak stated as she then pulled another lever and they slowed, Naruto nearly being thrown forward as they continued to slow down before coming to a complete stop. "Alright, everyone out, end of the line." Tak then stated while hitting something that opened the thrasher back up, Naruto lunging out of the device as quickly as he possibly could.

"Never again! I am never riding in that infernal screaming metal deathtrap ever again!" The young Overlord-In-Training declared loudly while Gnarl merely rolled his eye with clear amusement on his face.

"Oh don't be so melodramatic sire, it wasn't that bad." Gnarl retorted and the young Overlord-In-Training glared at him for it. "In any case, here we are, the entrance to The Orc Caverns!" Gnarl then declared and Naruto grunted while standing up, Tak making her way out of the Thrasher with an amused smirk on her face.

"And here I was thinking an almighty, all powerful Overlord could easily handle a little trip in a Thrasher…" Tak noted mostly to herself and Naruto grumbled under his breath while crossing his arms and glaring at her.

"Some of us prefer to keep our feet firmly on the ground! Besides, I just know that metal-deathtrap is going to get someone killed!" He retorted and Tak snickered to herself, Gnarl however then walked over to the side and raised a hand. Instantly a hole with a boiling yellow energy formed from the earth, the aged Minion-Master grinning as he then turned around to face the young Overlord-In-Training.

"Sire come over her for a moment! We should gather some Minions before we continue onward." Gnarl called out to the blond youth, Naruto brushing passed Tak before stopping at the pit. Raising a brow, Naruto looked into the bubbling cauldron-esque pit and then looked to Naruto with a confused expression.

"What is that?" The blond Overlord-In-Training questioned while looking to his Minion-Master with a raised brow. Grunting lightly, Gnarl then grinned widely while looking to the bubbling pit and motioned for Naruto to stand.

"This is a Minion-Gate Sire, I can create them wherever I want them to appear. However making too many can be a bit bothersome so I try to put them in places where they would be most helpful for your lordships conquest. They simply allow you to summon Minions whenever you need them, and the only limit to them is however many you can have in your Horde, or however much Life-Force you have, at any given time." Gnarl explained to the blond Overlord-In-Training and Naruto made an Oh with his mouth before backing up and narrowing his eyes onto the Gate.

"The how do I summon Minions, Gnarl?" The youth then asked nervously and Gnarl rolled his eyes, before grinning towards his master.

"Merely will them to appear sire, it's as simple as that. But if you have trouble, try imagining Minions and wave for however many you want out, it's a simple trick most Overlords pick up." Gnarl replied and Naruto held up his hand and waved ten times, Ten Minions hopping out of the pit as soon as he did.

"Master!" One cried while running over and hugging his side, Naruto pushing The Minion off of himself before crossing his arms with a smirk.

"Nice." He decided and Tak rolled her eyes behind him, both looking to Gnarl who waved for them to follow him as he waddled into one of the caves. "So do you actually know where we're going this time, Gnarl?" Naruto questioned of the Minion-Master, his ten Minions following behind him obediently. Grunting at the question, Gnarl then gave a look to Tak, the Goblin-Half-Breed frowning as she walked ahead of them once more. "I'll take that as a no…" Naruto decided as he followed behind Gnarl and Tak as they continued on their journey to the Orc caves…

TBC…

Important Characters:

Humans:

Haruno Sakura: Female…

Haruno Ayane: Female, Sakura's younger Sister and puppeteer, Evil

Minions:

Greys:

Gnarl: Minion-Master

Doc: Physician

Jester / Quaver: Jester and training dummy

Shin: Librarian

Espio: Espionage Agent

Browns:

Giblet: Forge Master.

Goby: Captain of The Guard

Grubber / Grubby: Three Stooges 1 / Digger

Gubben: Three Stooges 2

Moldy: Three Stooges 3

Goblins:

Zim: Male, Insane Goblin

Tenn: Female, Scout

Larb: Male, Trap-Maker

Zee: Female, Medic

Skutch: Male, Guard

Skoodge: Male, Soldier

Other:

Tak: Female, Half-Goblin, Half Human, Servant.

Echo: Tak's Brother, Half-Goblin, Half Human, Engineer

Naruto: Male, Abyss DragonKin / Overlord


	7. Orcs Pt1

**Disclaimer**: I own anything within; this story is merely a way for me to alleviate boredom…

[Tak: And here we are once again…

Gnarl: What the bloody hell are you doing here?

Tak: No one said I couldn't be here you know.

Lord Pain: She's got you there, Gnarl.

Zim: And The Almighty Zim is here also!

Doc: Oh not him…

Shin: Someone please tell me he isn't going to pop up every other chapter again.

Gnarl: Given his inanity I have a sinking feeling he'll do it…

Lord Pain: Shut up! Now start the fic.

Tak: At once master!

Zim: For the Overlord!]

_**NU**_: _**Dark Lord**_ +

_**Chapter 6**_: _**Orcs Pt. 1**_…

"Normal Speech"…

'_Normal Thoughts_'…

[Radio/Tower Heart In Use]…

"**Jutsu In Use**"…

"**Demon Speech**"…

'_**Demon Thoughts**_'…

"_**Inner Spirit Speech**_"…

(Konoha…)

Rather, under Konoha, a familiar goblin sits before a table with a deep scowl across his face. In front of him is a familiar pink-fluffy-rabbit-doll with deranged mechanical devices in it. Muttering curses under his breath, Zim removes the spider legs out of the doll before slamming them into the table with a snarl. "I'm going to destroy that filthy pig-smelly human female for this! No one makes a fool out of the almighty Zim!" The Tiny-Terror declared furiously before grabbing the spider-legs and started to fiddle with them. Not well known, was that Zim had briefly been an engineer, however he'd been bad at it, as he'd caused the death of their leader at the time…

"Zim will destroy the filthy pig-smelly, Zim will make her pay for her insolence!" Zim declared loudly before grabbing some other parts out of the puppet / doll and frowned as he looked them over. "How does this thing move? There are no gears, no springs, not even a power-source!" Zim exclaimed loudly while looking at the strange mechanical device with a frown. "These humans… they must have amazing technology for something like this to exist!" Zim then declared as the only, in his mind at least, plausible explanation for the lack of any kind of power-source. Frowning to himself, Zim started to scratch his chin while reworking the spider-legs and removing a few other devices from the little doll with practiced ease.

"If I am to prove myself to the Almighty Overlord, then I should discover the secret of that purple haired witches technology…" Zim suddenly mused while rubbing his chin and then grinned wickedly. "Yes! Zim shall do it! Zim shall discover the secret of the purple haired witches technology and bring it to the Overlord!" The Tiny-Terror declared while raising a fist and grinning almost manically. However he then sat back down and crossed his arms while glaring down at the pieces he'd recovered. "But now I need to decide what I should do with these…" He noted to himself before reaching into his "PAK" and pulled out a pencil and paper.

Drawing out a few quick, crude, designs the Tiny-Terror tried to decide what he'd want before hand. However he then tore out the paper and tossed it away while pulling out a new sheet of paper and sticking his tongue out of one side of his mouth. Soon enough, the Tiny-Terror grinned and chuckled darkly as he gazed at the design for his newest creation. "Yes, with this Zim will be able to move around much more quickly! The pig-smelly witch won't be able to hide her technology from me! Her secrets will be mine!" Zim declared before laughing loudly as he leaned back in his seat, only to cry out as he fell backwards and landed on the ground painfully.

"Zim really needs to stop laughing so much…" Zim decided while reaching up to rub the back of his head, one eye closed from the pain he was feeling. Shaking his head rapidly, the tiny green menace then sat up and narrowed his eyes. "But that can wait! For now, Zim must begin his mission!" Zim declared with a wicked grin stretched across his face as he pulled himself back up and got to work on the parts he'd removed from the doll that Ayane had thrown at him…

(Orc Caverns…)

Naruto couldn't help a frown as he walked deeper into the caves alongside Tak and Gnarl, his Ten-Minions behind him, one kicking another repeatedly for no apparent reason. Looking back to see the Minions doing this, Naruto then palmed his face when he saw one dragging another in a headlock, and yet another was balancing a rock on his head. "Why are they messing around like that?" Naruto questioned of Gnarl with a flat tone, the aging Minion-Master grunting as he looked back to see what his master meant.

"Minions have an extremely hard time concentrating on any tasks for more than a few seconds sire." Gnarl replied while Tak snickered slightly as she watched a Minion hop onto another's back and use him as a slide.

"I think they're amusing." Tak noted while the two minions slammed into a wall and fell backwards, their eyes practically spinning in their sockets.

"You've just not been around them enough…" Gnarl responded with a frown on his face, Tak shrugging as she stretched out her limbs for a moment then slowed down as they approached a pair of heavily armored humanoid creatures.

"And there are the Orcs…" Tak noted aloud with a slight grimace, while Naruto gazed at the creatures and widened his eyes. The Guards were big and burly with massive shoulders and ridiculously heavy looking plate mail and ring-mail armor, large spears in one hand with a buckler shield on their empty arm.

"Whoa, are they all that big?" Naruto questioned warily and Gnarl rolled his eyes for a moment before shooting a grin to his master.

"The females are a little smaller…" The Aged Minion-Master replied with a smirk and a shrug and Naruto shivered slightly. _'At least the Goblins were my height… now I feel like an __**Under-lord**__ compared to these guys…'_ Naruto thought to himself with a grimace as they approached the two Orcs, who quickly crossed their spears.

"State yer busyness Goblins." One ordered and Gnarl frowned deeply, only for Tak to walk forward.

"We're here to speak with your chief about an alliance, Red and Purple have been ousted as leaders and The Overlord has finally returned." Tak stated and the two guards looked to one another, and then scanned the group of minions and Naruto for a moment. Looking at him for a moment, they noticed the vastly different equipment he carried, different outfit to a goblin, and even the crown and grinned slightly.

"So then that isn't a goblin… seems kind of small for an Overlord." One of them noted thoughtfully while the other snickered and Naruto growled low in his throat.

"I'm only twelve dammit! And I'm a little short for my age!" Naruto shouted at them and they merely rolled their eyes before stepping to either side.

"Whatever you say, milord." The one who seemed to do all the talking offered mockingly and Naruto muttered under his breath as he and the minions walked into the city alongside an amused Tak.

"Problems dealing with your height?" Tak asked with an amused smirk and got an annoyed glare from the blond for her trouble.

"Watch it Tak, I may be nice, but that doesn't mean I can't set your ass on fire when I feel like you deserve it." Naruto warned while forming a fireball into his free hand and the Goblin Girl chuckled nervously while taking a step away from him and making a mental note not to get on his bad side.

"Master, are you certain you'd wish to damage your property like that?" Gnarl questioned of his blond master with a raised brow, Tak and Naruto both sputtering at the way he said it. "And I mean it seems awfully wasteful of such a cute rear-end too…" Gnarl then added and Tak had to fight not to blush while glaring furiously at the elderly old Minion-Master. Naruto on the other hand merely gaped towards the old Minion-master and then shook his head and gave him an incredulous look.

"Gnarl! She's only eight for crying out loud! What kind of pervert are you!" Naruto shouted at the Grey and he snorted before snickering into one of his hands. Tak on the other hand gave Naruto an "are you kidding me" kind of look, as for a Goblin she was actually fairly old even though she wasn't full grown yet since she was a Half-Breed.

"As far as perversion goes Sire, I used to be with a Succubus, she was a rather charming girl, really inventive in the bedroom as well… but she was just far too high-maintenance for a Minions Meager Salary." Gnarl noted with a shake of his head, both Tak and Naruto gaping towards the old Minion, while Naruto's horde snickered behind them. "With pure blooded Goblins, they start mating when they're about three…" He replied and saw Naruto gape at him once more, thus the minions behind them started to snicker even more. The Blond Haired Overlord-In-Training couldn't help gaping, and then turned to look at Tak incredulously and saw her cross her arms, though could swear she was blushing as well.

"I'll be physically ready for that when I'm nine of your human years old…" She grumbled out and Naruto's eyes bolted open before shaking his head as he remembered just how short her own, and pure-breed Goblins, life-spans were.

"Right… I… sort of forgot you mentioning that before." Naruto mumbled before shaking his head and discretely looking around the Orc home and frowning.

Unlike the short and wiry goblins, Orcs seemed to be big and burly, most adult males reaching to six and a half feet tall at the least, with rough green skin, short tusks coming up over their upper lip, short but still pointed ears, those that had hair was usually black and they all had what looked like a receded hairline, and yellow seemed to be the only eye-color available to them besides their black sclera. Meanwhile females were smaller than males, reaching up to about six foot even at the smallest, with smaller tusks than the males, and less of a receded hairline thought it was still noticeable, they also had the typical features of women only they were much more muscular and burly.

Also unlike the Goblins who all wore some kind of uniform, Orcs seemed to have a wide variety of different styles of clothing, though a majority looked like leather, some seemed like standard cloth and wool, some had somehow managed to find fur and so they wore that, some chose to wear only what was necessary, and still more wore what was clearly an extremely heavy suit of different types of battle-armor, complete with axes, flails, war-scythes, swords, shields, spears, maces, and several other heavy weapons and equipment, and Naruto noticed that they all walked and even ran around like the sheer weight of their equipment didn't bother them in the least.

Also unlike the Goblins, the Orcs had a much more simple village with hut like homes here and there, some dug out of the very rock of the walls, and still more were made out of a combination of the ways. Above, Naruto noticed holes in the ceiling allowing Sunlight to shine down, and looking to where it shined, the blond Overlord-In-Training saw several simple farms, with trenches dug out around them and water flowing through them. However besides those Orcs running around, Naruto also saw several large holes in homes that resembled some kind of bite marks, knocked over pillars and logs, and he could see the farms where the grew food had been gotten into as well.

"Okay… is it just me, or does it seem like something bad has happened here recently?" Naruto asked while looking over to Gnarl and the aging Minion Master silently nodded his head in agreement with his young Master.

"Unfortunately you're right, Sire." Gnarl replied and then clicked his tongue while looking around with narrowed eyes. He studied the bite-marks first, noticed they were long and horizontal shaped, and grimaced as he knew of only one creature that large that could make a bite like that. "Oh great, I'd know those kind of teeth marks anywhere, Mammoth-Ants. But why did it have to be Mammoth-Ants? I hate them more than sunshine and green lush life giving plants, I hate them more than baby Seals, I hate them more than bloody self-righteous Heroes! But still it just had to be Mammoth Ants!" The Minion Master complained while palming his face as they approached a large hut.

"Is that the chief's hut?" Naruto questioned and Tak silently nodded her head as they approached the hut, then walked forward and knocked on the door. Not long after a large, burly Orc with fairly common features stepped out, however he also had a blind left eye with a scar over it, his left tusk was missing, and the scar traveled down into his heavy looking chain and plate-mail armor, his long black hair is left to hang free, fur covers his shoulders and lines the edges of his armor, more smaller and faded scars were also visible on his body, but the worst of them was the one from his eye down, and finally there is a pair of old war axes were slung onto his back in an X.

"Alright who's there?" The Orc demanded while looking around and both Naruto and Tak twitched when he didn't notice them. The Browns however snickered to themselves, finding the situation highly amusing given the rather large number of members in their group.

"Down here big guy…" Naruto grumbled out and the Orc leader looked down before raising a brow when he saw the group, including the ten brown minions with them. Raising a brow, the Orc reached up to scratch his head while looking at the group, idly noticing one was a goblin, another vaguely reminded him of an evil high elf, and the others looked a batch of miniature brown Goblins, with an elderly grey Goblin.

"And just who are you supposed to be?" The enormous Orc demanded in a low tone with a raised brow, half kneeling in order to look at them as his armor made it difficult for him otherwise.

"I am Gnarl, Minion-Master and devoted servant to Darkness… this is my Master, The Overlord." Gnarl responded with a slight bow while motioning over to Naruto, the blond giving a slight wave to the massive Orc. "And we're here to discuss a possibility of gaining your alliance, as well as some medicine for the Goblins, the old chiefs have worked them to near death and we're in need of some assistance in order to gather the Dark Races together." Gnarl explained and the Orc hummed while reaching up to rub at his chin as he looked them all over. Quirking a brow, the Orc couldn't help an amused look when he saw the supposed Overlord.

"Really? Seems to me he's kind of small for such a high station…" The large Orc noted humorously and Naruto growled lowly while glaring up at the behemoth. Was it just him, or were all of the Orcs going to pick on him for being "Short" even though he was only twelve, since he was supposed to be the Overlord?

"I'm only twelve!" He growled out and the orc rolled his eyes while standing back up and moved out of the doorway to his home.

"In any case, come in, we'll need to discuss a few things first." The large Orc ordered and Naruto muttered to himself for a moment before turning to his ten Browns. Holding out a hand, Naruto imagined a Guard-Marker and the Browns formed together and saluted while one pretended to hold the imaginary marker up.

"Stay." Naruto ordered playfully before walking into the house with an amused Tak, Gnarl snickering to himself as he could only imagine the amount of hell the Browns would cause the Orcs. Even given the limited area they would have around that Guard-Marker, they would still somehow manage to raise hell, which was fine with Gnarl just as long as they didn't literally raise hell… again.

Inside, Naruto and Gnarl walked behind the large Orc with Tak yawning behind them. Looking around, Naruto noticed that the Orc lived in a simple home unlike Red and Purple with only what he needed, as well as his home being a simple two-story affair with little to set it apart from those of his people, yet again this was a stark contrast to the wasteful and greedy Goblins Red and Purple. "Forgive me if I don't offer you anything to drink, the recent Mammoth Ant attacks have left us rather short on supplies and amenities." The Orc noted with a slight frown while motioning over to some stools. "But either way, please have a seat." The orc offered the group and Gnarl quickly hobbled over and let out a sigh as he sat down, clearly not used to so much physical activity.

"I'm fine standing." Naruto replied with a slight shrug of his shoulders, while Tak merely leaned into a wall at the side.

"Fine. First allow me to introduce myself, I'm Gron Gar'amen, leader of the Orcs here in the Underworld and descendent of one of the Overlords Generals." Gron stated with a slight bow and Naruto mentally rolled his eyes, though wondered about Gron's ancestor for a moment.

"Uzumaki Naruto, the current Overlord and leader of the minions and Goblins." Naruto told the Orc simply and Gnarl smirked to himself before speaking as well.

"I've already introduced myself." Gnarl noted aloud and the orc nodded before looking over to Tak.

"I'm Tak, my mother was Siria Fellhammer." Tak stated and Gron blinked before leaning towards her while rubbing his chin.

"I see, so it was your mother who built our irrigation ditches then?" He questioned of the Half-Goblin and she merely nodded her head, though couldn't help but feel somewhat annoyed as her mother was a fairly well known Goblin Engineer in the Underworld. "Quite the impressive lineage then… but enough pleasantries, what "alliance" do you wish us to join old one?" Gron questioned while turning to face Gnarl, the aging Minion-Master smirking as he looked to the Orc leader.

"Why a new Dark-Alliance of course!" Gnarl replied and Gron raised a brow before reaching up and rubbing his chin with a frown.

"The last true Dark-Alliance was under the command of The Overlady, Eldrith… was it not?" Gron questioned and Gnarl nodded his head, Naruto blinking as he looked to the two, having been left totally unaware of _**that**_ ancestor.

"Eldrith? You mean an Overlord before me tried uniting the Dark-Races?" Naruto questioned and Gnarl nodded his head with an amused look on his face.

"Yes Sire, Eldrith was a general to one of the western cities in our lands before she was abandoned and "betrayed" by them, then attempted to attack the city only to be chased into the marshes to the north-east of it. She found we minions there, and together, we built her a magnificent Onyx Tower before attempting to take control of the lands… only for her to later be killed by three annoying heroes when she got arrogant. In any case, she managed to unite the Dark-Elves, Werewolves, Goblins, Orcs, and Lizardmen together in her attempt to conquer the lands, but those three heroes managed to fight their way through her armies, invade the tower, and ultimate killed her." Gnarl explained with a frown on his face as Eldrith hadn't lasted too long compared to most Overlords / Ladies and was barely worth mentioning…

"Indeed, however even though she was defeated before actually doing anything of true note, because Eldrith united us all back then Werewolves, Orcs, Goblins, Drow, and Lizardmen have remained great allies for generations." Gron offered and Naruto nodded his head slowly, though made a note to learn more about his extended family at some point, as it seemed he had quite a cadre of rather interesting ancestors.

"In any case, we're here to reunite the original Dark-Alliance, as well as bring in the new blood from across the lands. The Harpies, Wild Elves, and the many Beast-Man races that dwell in the Shadow Mountains, Evernight Forest, and Skull Gorge. The Drow who are still living in the Dwarven City at the Golden Hills. As well as the Gargoyles, Runic Witches, and Aquatic Elves of Everlight Island. Not to mention the many Undead in the Wraith Lands of what used to be Spree Village, Heavens Peak, and the Ruborian Desert. And while we're at it we might as well go out and find the Shadow Elves of The Broken Lands, The Qunari of Thedas, and the Argonians from Tamriel." Gnarl explained to Gron and he hummed while reaching up to rub his chin for a moment.

As he considered this, Naruto was looking more than a little surprised at the sheer number of Dark-Races that exist across the world. He also couldn't help but wonder how many types of Elves there were, as well as wondering just how many Light-Races there were across the world in general. "Hey… wait a minute… how come no one has ever seen any of those races running around up above before? I mean, I get that you guys have captured a bunch of them, but then how come I've never heard of Orcs and the like being in the Elemental Nations before?" Naruto questioned while looking at Gnarl and the old Minion-Master mentally rolled his eyes.

"That's very simple sire, most dark races are actually confused with the many mythical beings or Youkai your people have dreamed up. Onigumo are of course Arachne, Dryder and Drachnids are what you refer to as Jurogumo. Harpies are basically Wild-Shikone. Orcs, Trolls, and Ogres are what you call Oni. Goblins, Gremlins, and Minions are Amanojaku. Several beast man races are refered too by many different names. A Dryad or Spriggan would be a Kodama. A Sahagain would be a Ningyo to you. Wisps are what they call Hitodama. The many types of "Yurei" your people are aware of are actually just Undead beings. A Succubus is a Hinoenma. And last is a Vampire or a Kyuketsuki." Gnarl explained with boredom and Naruto blinked in surprise while looking to the Minion Master.

"Furthermore, many humans have in fact seen us and called us by those names, however other humans figure that person is insane and ignore him or her. On occasion so many sightings occur that humans start to suspect something and investigate, at which point whomever was found will typically capture the humans, and make it look as if Bandits kidnapped them in order to protect the safety of the Dark-Sanctuary. We are also directly beneath "Yami no Kuni" or the Land of Darkness, a barren empty land were only the Dark Races exist due to an accidental plague brought upon those lands many years ago." Gnarl added thoughtfully and Naruto absorbed that information and then slowly started to nod his head in understanding.

"Wow… I… I never thought of that, it does make sense though when you think of how long you guys must've been hiding, and what with how often Youkai were supposed to kidnap children." Naruto mused mostly to himself before shaking his head. "Thank's for explaining Gnarl." Naruto told the old Minion Master and he waved it off before looking back to Gron, the old Orc frowning to himself. Rubbing his face tiredly, Gron nodded his head in understanding, though was annoyed that an alliance was going to take place between _**all**_ the Dark Races, as Orcs and Elves of any kind had never really gotten along, not even the Drow got along with them all that well, instead they both mostly tolerated each other's existence and worked with them as fellow slavers.

"Yes, but as I was saying we're not really in a position to help anyone until we get rid of this Mammoth-Ant infestation." Gron replied with a frown on his face and Gnarl mentally groaned while clearly dreading what he knew he and his master would clearly have to do.

"Why did it have to be Mammoth-Ants?" Gnarl grumbled in a pitiful tone and Naruto raised a brow, wondering why they were all complaining about a bunch of ants.

"If all you need is some ants dealt with before you join us, then I'll take care of them for you." Naruto offered casually with a frown, figuring that there was no possible way a bunch of stupid ants could be so dangerous. However at the incredulous look on Gron's face, and given his obvious size and strength, Naruto decided that maybe he should rethink his idea about these "Mammoth-Ants".

"You actually want to go into a nest, of rock eating, Mammoth-Ants? And that's just the drones and not even counting the larger winged soldier ants who can spit out fire, the males that are twice as big as the soldiers, or the queen whose even bigger than all of them and that has wings!" Gron demanded of the blond haired youth who felt his eyes bolt open at the information he was just given about these "Mammoth Ants"… _'Okay, Mammoth-Ants are another giant pest… but this time they seem a little more dangerous than the others.'_ Naruto noted to himself as he wondered how an ant could spit out fire or eat through solid stone.

"Well when you put it that way…" Naruto muttered to himself while looking away from the enormous Orc and rubbed the back of his neck slowly. When he'd originally thought of a creature that was called Mammoth-Ants, he had figured that they would be similar to Arachne, larger than normal but not too dangerous. However before he could contemplate this further, and worry about it, a pair of Orcs walked into the room from the stairway over to the side. Looking to the pair, Naruto assumed one was Gron's daughter due to her young age, while the other bore a physical resemblance to Gron, thus he was either his son, his brother, or possibly even his father.

The girl of the two was clearly in her teenage years and was a couple years older than Naruto from her appearance. She was also taller than Naruto, with dark green skin and an "Amazonian" build as she was clearly strong but still managed to somehow look feminine, with long pointed ears that seemed off for an Orc that had a few silver earrings in the cartilage, long and sharp black fingernails, her tusks were smaller than normal even for a female, while her eyes were bright crimson red with a black sclera, something that clearly hinted she wasn't normal, and her hairline came down to her forehead like a normal human girl, while her long jet-black hair was pulled into a low-ponytail with her bangs partly obscuring her left eye.

The girl wore a red leather bikini like top with bones partially woven into it; she also wore what looked like a red leather bikini bottom that was fashioned into a knee length loincloth, with both having. She also has a choker collar made from bone worn around her neck, a pair of red leather bracers over her forearms, a pair of red leather boots with silver bangles around her ankles, brown leather knee-pads, black leather garter straps around her thighs, and a leather belt around her waist that branched off into numerous straps at her left hip with more bones woven into it, and an old falchion type sword sheathed at her left hip.

The other was significantly larger and older and heavily resembled Gron, minus the one scar from his left eye down, and save for wearing a hooded scarf around his neck, with a quiver on his back and a bow hanging from his shoulder, a leather bodysuit and a heavy suit of plate mail over it, sturdy looking boots, and a pair of thick archers bracers over his arms, which he had crossed over his chest.

"And just who might these two be?" Gnarl suddenly questioned while looking at the two, and lingering on the girl a bit too long.

"This is my daughter, Tora, and my brother, her bodyguard, Grunge." Gron replied with a wave in their direction, and then crossed his arms over his chest while looking over to his daughter and brother. "So what did you two want?" Gron questioned with a raised brow and Tora looked from her father to Naruto and then placed her hands onto her hips. However before the girl could speak, the larger Orc placed a hand on her shoulder and walked forward a few paces.

"Forgive us, brother, but we couldn't help overhearing…" Grunge explained with a wave of one hand, Naruto blinking at the deep rough voice that sounded of gravel. _'This guy is almost a stereotype, he's big with a deep rough voice, and if he used an Ax and heavy armor, he'd be the perfect garden variety version of an atypical orc…'_ The blond thought to himself, and wondered why the guy went with a Bow and Quiver, not to mention such light armor, rather than heavy armor like his brother.

"I see… and I suppose you have something to add…" Gron noted while leaning back in his seat and Tora slammed a hand into the table before him with a scowl.

"Damn right I do! Why would you even consider sending _**him**_ down into the caves when you wouldn't let me and Grunge go!" She demanded of her father quite loudly and the old Orc grunted while palming his face.

"He's not my family is why, besides, the Overlord has more forces and a more likely chance of survival than a Teenage Orc and an archer… Grunge's skills are almost useless in the caves." Gron reminded pointedly, Grunge frowning for a moment before conceding his brother's point. While Drow were a type of Elf they rarely, if ever, used a bow and arrow while underground. Typically they would use either magic or a sword of some kind, Whips were also known, but Bows and Arrows were unlikely. Goblins could use them because of their smaller size, giving them the overall elbowroom in otherwise cramped caves to continually fire arrows.

"But he's even younger than I am, and smaller to boot!" Tora then exclaimed and Naruto twitched while gritting his teeth in annoyance. _'Seriously! Just how many shots at my height are these Orcs gonna take before they realize they are pissing off their future ruler!'_ The blond Overlord-In-Training inwardly demanded while glaring at Tora furiously for her remark.

"This isn't about you, Tora!" Gron growled at his daughter and she glared at him straight in the eyes, both unyielding before Grunge cleared his throat. Snapping their head to their other family member, the two orcs watched the somewhat quiet Orc reach up and rub the back of his neck.

"Brother, it's not that I question your judgment on this matter, however, Tora is an experienced and cunning warrior." Grunge noted with a nod of his head and then crossed his arms over his check while giving his brother a look. "She's grown by leaps and bounds over the years, however she won't continue to grow stronger unless you allow her to enter more dangerous situations… and besides, if need be, I'll follow her and The Overlord into the caves." Grunge added and Gron frowned while drumming his fingers on the table and glanced at Tora before grunting.

"Fine, do whatever you want… but get a melee weapon Grunge, your bow is worthless down there." Gron ordered and the archer grunted before turning on his heel and making his way up the same flight of stairs he'd came from earlier. "In any case, we'll need some kind of plan to exterminate the Mammoth Ants." Gron then noted and Naruto nodded his head in agreement, only for Tora to tilt her head to one side.

"Plan? We go in and smash them! How's that for a plan!" The Orc girl declared while punching her right fist into her open palm and Naruto palmed his face. _'Urgh… no wonder Gron never sent her down there, she's got absolutely no brains for this kind of work…'_ The blond thought to himself before exhaling, Gnarl rubbing his chin with a thoughtful frown at the side.

"Perhaps we could have Tak drive her Thrasher down into the cave and clear out the majority, then have them enter and take care of the remaining stragglers." Gnarl offered helpfully and Gron shook his head with a deep frown on his face.

"The caves are carved out of solid rock, besides, a Thrasher is too big for the caves without having to dig them out. And that'll just drive the Mammoth ants even deeper than they already are." Gron replied and Gnarl pouted, as he really wanted to see something get chopped up with that Thrasher…

"Fine… then what about dumping explosives down in there?" Gnarl questioned and Gron shook his head once more.

"That would only collapse the caves, if the Queen has survived she'll just have them dig it all out. Or they could even burrow up and attack us all directly… again." Gron replied, Gnarl clicking his tongue while Tora felt one of her eyebrows start to twitch at the lack of action.

"Why are you two sitting around? We have ants to smash!" She declared and Gnarl blinked before looking over to see Gron palming his face once more.

"What exactly is the other half of her blood?" Gnarl questioned with a frown while Naruto listened mostly because he was curious about that as well. Sighing for a moment, Gron then leaned back in his seat while giving Tora a flat look.

"She's half Drow, half Orc, and all impulsive and reckless…" Gron replied while giving her a look, said girl looking at her father incredulously, while Gnarl snickered to himself. Naruto on the other hand looked more than a little surprised, as he was well aware of how little Orcs and Elves had ever gotten along thanks to his "mother" Sylvanas. _'Weird… but there's probably some really long or very political explanation about how she was born, so I won't bother asking and leaving it at that.'_ Naruto decided to himself and then watched on silently as Tora glared at her father for the crack.

"I am so not impulsive or reckless!" She declared and both Gnarl and Naruto rolled their eyes, having seen how she was most assuredly both.

"Right, and saying you and the Overlord should just go and smash the Mammoth-Ants when they outnumber you ten to one isn't reckless at all…" Gron noted aloud with obvious sarcasm, causing Tora to pout and cross her arms over her chest.

"Better than sitting around doing nothing…" The Half-Breed grumbled out angrily while Grunge walked down the steps and into the room, a pair of small hand-axes attached to the sides of his waist. Turning to look at his brother, Gron let out a heavy grunt while crossing his arms over his chest.

"Hey Grunge, you better make sure to smack Tora around a bit if she gets too impetuous down there!" Gron ordered his brother, Tora pouting while the large Orc smirked to himself.

"As you wish brother." He offered with a slight bow before turning on his heel and walking towards the exit. "We should hurry, the faster we get this done, the faster we can get out of there…" Grunge then stated and Naruto nodded his head, following behind the Orc, a grinning Tora in tow. However, Naruto then stopped and turned to look at the old Minion-Master in concern.

"You going to be alright on your own, Gnarl?" The blond haired Overlord questioned of the aged Minion-Master and Gnarl waved it off with a grin.

"I'll be fine here Master, in fact, I'll be safer here than the lot of you in those forsaken caves." Gnarl replied and Naruto shrugged before walking out of the home and calling on his Minions to follow behind him. Shaking her head as they left, Tak buffed her knuckles on her shirt with a deep frown on her face.

"Bloody gits are crazy for actually going down there… I swear, not even Zim is crazy enough to walk into a nest of Mammoth-Ants!" The Goblin-Girl declared with a shake of her head, causing Gnarl to scowl while glaring at her.

"Well that may be, Tak, however you're going with them!" The Old minion-Master ordered flatly and the Goblin-Girl gave him an incredulous look. Gron on the other hand merely rolled his eyes and reached up to rub at his eyes, inwardly deciding none of this was his business.

"W-What! Why the hell would I even dream of going into those damn forsaken caves?" She demanded loudly and Gnarl gave her a rather pointed look while crossing his arms over his chest.

"How about this, if our master dies down there, then I'm left in charge, and considering I'll most likely blame you for his death… well, lets just say you'll be sticky and on your back for the remainder of your days." Gnarl warned darkly, Tak's eyes bolting open before slowly grinning and sidling out of the room.

"Eh… right! I best be off then! Don't need that crazy Orc girl getting the master killed!" Tak said a little too quickly before bolting out of the room, after Naruto, Gnarl chuckling under his breath as she went.

(?)

An entire town lay in ruins, and within this town its destroyers have yet to leave. Beyond mounds of bodies, passed the bones of people whose flesh was burned away, and then beyond the smoldering ashes of those who had been disintegrated, was an enormous and twisted gate. Before the gate, the now lifeless body of The Betrayer lay as a creature cut off one of his hands and it was quickly deposited into a small urn, the cap placed onto it by a twisted creature. Both look to be human skeletons wearing heavy obsidian armor without any kind of helmet, its eye sockets filled by a glowing white light, and a blue scarf thrown over its shoulders as it carries the urn away. The creature with the battle-ax only differed from the one with the urn by its blood red scarf.

"Be careful you stupid wraiths!" Lilith sudden cried out as she landed on the ground with a huff as they continued to chop away at the body of The Betrayer. "You can't damage those too badly or they won't work for what we need them for!" She then declared before huffing and pinching the bridge of her nose agitatedly. "I swear, he needs to use my Succubi more often, they are so much more intelligent than any of these blasted Wraiths!" She declared before stiffening at a heavy thud that came from behind her, then turned slowly and took a step back from an enormous creature glaring down at her furiously.

This creature was vastly different to the others, it was an eight foot tall skeleton for one, its body shrouded in a long hooded cloak, wrappings over its arms, obsidian armor positioned at its shoulders, an armored belt around its waist, an obsidian armored mask over its skull-like face, and white orbs of light glowing within the shadows of its eye-sockets, a massive war-scythe clutched in its boney fingers.

"_**Watch thy words wench! You may be the Master's chosen, but we are not quite so forgiving of people who insult us so…"**_ The creature uttered while swinging the edge of its scythe, the tip lightly poking into the Succubi's neck. Narrowing her eyes, the Succubi lifted a hand and moved the tip of the scythe away from her neck before glaring at the Reaper with a scowl.

"And you should watch thy tongue wretch, should my love hear you, he would rip you in two!" Lilith declared and yet the Wraith-Reaper seemed to grin wider than possible for a skeleton as he reached up with one hand and rubbed at his chin.

"_**I wonder… would he truly? Or would he simply find a new hole for his carnal lusts? After all, that is your only use…"**_ The Reaper wondered to himself while turning and hopping down from his perch, the ground beneath shuddering from the impact. Looking at the now deeply scowling succubi from over his shoulder, The Reaper then chuckle darkly while fingering the staff of his scythe. _**"Oh, and before I forget, don't overestimate your worth, lest your arrogance lead to your undoing."**_ The Reaper noted mostly to himself as he wandered away from her, clutching a glowing green object in his bony hands as his eyes flashed a brilliant emerald in color.

'_**All goes according to plan…'**_ The Reaper thought to himself as he fingered the strange emerald green object for a moment before slipping it into the folds of his robes and vanishing into the shadows silently. Meanwhile behind him Lilith silently fumed while glaring towards where the Reaper had been mere moments before. _'Worthless Wraith-Reaper! What does he know? I use most humans as mere toys and he thinks I overestimate my position? Ha!'_ The Succubi thought to herself before feeling the ground shudder and shake, numerous wisps flying downwards into the ground a second later…

"**Lilith…"** The voice of The Betrayer suddenly echoed out, the said Succubi turning around only to jump back as a bony hand reached out of the ground. Yelping, the Succubi Queen flew into the air and watched as a bony body was dragged out of the ground before floating into the air, its mouth opening to reveal sharpened canines. The body then started to glow brilliantly as a pair of familiar hell-fire red orbs formed in the bony-beings eye-sockets. The creature then screeched as it threw its arms to either side, forming chain and plaemail armor over most of its body with a scarf around its neck, and a loincloth hanging from its waist, a thick leather belt holding an ax around its armored midsection, and finally was a familiar three pointed helmet / crown.

"My love, you look dreadful." Lilith noticed while falling back to the ground and frowning as the newborn Lich fell to its knees. Reaching his hands up, the newborn Lich would've coughed if he could, but his throat felt dry, his limbs felt weak, his entire body felt as if it were dead. He knew it should be dead, but that didn't mean he had to like how the feeling made him well… feel…

"**I feel worse… I need… I need a new body…"** The Betrayer stated while long cape made completely out of shadows formed out of his back and twisted and turned around his body like living cloud. Tapping her chin for a moment, Lilith walked around the Newborn Lich with a thoughtful expression, irking him greatly. He briefly wondered if she realized that he was in pain in this form, or that he was starting to feel more and more angry with her for acting as if he was at her mercy… _**'I really must rectify that once I'm back at full strength…'**_ The Newborn Lich mentally declared while Lilith soon came to a stop and tilted her head to one side.

"Hmmm… can I pick the body then?" Lilith questioned and the newborn Lich narrowed its hellfire red eyes onto her dangerously.

"**A body… that I must spend… all of my time in… should be chosen… by me…"** The Betrayers voice rumbled darkly and Lilith rolled her eyes before placing her hands on her hips with a frown.

"So I have no say in the body that I'll be sharing my bed with then?" The Succubi questioned with an arched brow, The Betrayer grunting before forcing himself up onto his feet and glaring at her furiously.

"**You mean… MY bed, Lilith."** The Betrayer reminded and she huffed while crossing her arms and hovering off of the ground.

"Semantics, love… the point is, I will be sharing a bed with whatever body you take. So I'd like it to be aesthetically pleasing to me before doing so." Lilith replied with a slight glare and The Betrayer grunted while snapping his fingers, several Wraiths forming and then calling up a throne behind him. Sitting himself in the throne, The Betrayer narrowed his eyes onto Lilith as she smirked and him and scowled deeply.

"**Very well… but… make certain that it is the body of a powerful warrior."** The Betrayer ordered, Lilith's eyes brightening as she nodded her head. Raising a hand, The Betrayer then motioned for the girl to go, Lilith smirking as she did so in a flash of fire, leaving the Newborn Lich to his own devices…

(Underworld…)

Naruto dropped down into the caves that house the Mammoth Ant Colony with a deep frown on his face. The cave was extremely dark, bordering on pitch dark save for the light of the hole above him. _'If I didn't have my Overlord Gem I'd have to bring a Torch or something to see down here…'_ Naruto noted to himself as he walked forward and held up his Overlord Gem, concentrating on it and causing a pale-yellow glow to spread out and light his way. Seconds later, Naruto groaned as he heard the insane chatter of his brown Minions as they hopped in after him, laughing and giggling like the little maniacs that they were.

"These guys aren't really quiet are they?" Tak questioned as she flipped down with an impressive acrobatic maneuver and Naruto shrugged his shoulders.

"You get used to it…" Naruto replied with a wave of his hand and Tak raised a brow before shrugging, Tora and Grunge landing behind them with heavy thuds. Brushing herself off, Tora walked over to them, while Grunge quickly scoped out the area before cracking his neck and following his niece.

"_Master! Can you hear me? Testing, testing… one… two… three… is this bloody thing on?"_ Gnarl's voice suddenly came and Naruto blinked while looking around for the Minion Master before frowning to himself.

"Gnarl?" He questioned aloud and heard a strange hum at the back of his head.

"_Ah! Good! The link is working perfectly then! As I've mentioned before Master, now that you're bonded to the Tower-Heart, I'll be able to speak with you telepathically. I'll alert you to any changes in the kingdom while your gone or explain about certain things when the need arises. And don't speak out loud when you need me Sire, just think and I'll hear you."_ Gnarl explained to the blond haired Overlord-In-Training, Naruto blinking in surprised before shaking his head. Looking around, Naruto found Tora giving him a look with her arms crossed over her chest.

"So, is the almighty Overlord ready to move or what?" Tora questioned of him derisively, causing Naruto to twitch before turning on his heel and marching down into the caves with a scowl. Looking to Tora warily, Tak then frowned at the Orcish Girl while crossing her arms.

"You do know he could have you executed for such an insult… right?" Tak questioned and Tora waved that off while walking passed the Goblin-Girl, Grunge frowning to himself.

"She's stubborn and prideful to a fault… if she doesn't get her head on straight she'll be killed." Grunge noted with a frown and Tak nodded her head in agreement with the significantly larger male. However she then smirked while turning to look at the Orc, Grunge raising a brow when he saw her.

"Didn't her father say you could slap her around if she got like that?" Tak asked cheekily and Grunge rolled his eyes before marching after the girl, minions, and young Overlord. "Fine, don't answer me." Tak muttered under her breath with a huff while walking after the group, arms crossed and an annoyed expression across her face. Ahead of them, Naruto stopped when he heard a strange clicking sound and then looked to either side, before cursing as an Ant that was half his side nearly bit into him.

"Holy shit!" The blond declared loudly while quickly pulling both his Tanto from his back, Tora running passed him and slicing one of the ants in half, only to curse as five more quickly took its place. Narrowing his eyes, Naruto brought up his hand before sweeping his Minions forward into the ants, one quickly being eaten while the rest jumped onto their backs and started to beat their heads in. Marching forward with a frown, Naruto gave Tora a look before walking passed her and holding up his hand, forming a ball of fire into it. _'Lets clear this cave of a bit of useless waste…'_ Naruto mentally declared before throwing his arm forward, sending a wall of fire forward that burned and scorched everything in its path.

"Why did you do that?" Tora questioned with a frown and Naruto used one of his Tanto and stabbed it into a very large white larva. Lifting it up, Naruto frowned while channeling some lightning through the sword to scorch and burn the Larva as well, and then turned to look at Tora.

"Because, if we leave these alive, they will just make a new queen and spread again. We have to kill the larva as well as the queen before we get out of here." The blond haired youth replied before marching down the caves and Tora frowned then followed after him. Naruto silently collecting Life-Force from the downed Larva and Ants as he went.

"How do you know that?" She questioned while Naruto sent yet another Wall of Fire down the line, scorching and burning even more Larva along the walls, and then collecting even more of the Life-Force, his Minions bringing him whatever he missed.

"Because my friend Shino mentioned that insects can create a new queen when she is killed. We were having a class on tactics and someone suggested killing the Kage as being the most effective way of disabling a Shinobi-Village. However, Shino said that it wouldn't work, as like the ants, if you kill the queen, the rest of the Hive will pick a new queen from one of the Larva." Naruto replied calmly while throwing a wall of fire down the length of the cave before him, and then scowled when he heard more clicking. "We got incoming!" He warned loudly and Tora grinned as another swarm of Mammoth-Ants marched towards them yet again. However among this group was an ant that was even bigger than the Soldier ants, causing Naruto to gape, then curse as it somehow spat a fireball at him.

Ducking out of the way, Naruto then blinked as an Ax flew passed him and sliced through the Fire-Ant's head. "Don't loose your focus or it'll be the end of ye'." Grunge stated in a gruff voice while lunging passed Naruto with surprising speed and slamming one of his light axes into a Soldier-Ant. Shaking his head, Naruto swept his Minions into the Soldiers as well, Tora grinning as she started to slice through them wildly. With that done, Naruto turned to one side and looked to Tak with a raised brow, as the goblin girl was merely watching with a slight frown on her face.

"Why aren't you helping?" Naruto questioned and Tak rolled her eyes before reaching back to her PAK, which slid open and she withdrew what looked like several throwing knives from it. Holding one of them up, the Goblin Girl opened her mask and allowed it to hang at her collar, then started picking at her teeth.

"Cause I don't feel like it…" She replied simply and Naruto let out a grunt before forming a fireball into his right hand.

"Back up!" Naruto ordered, Grunge grabbing Tora and pulling her back while the remaining Minions quickly followed. Grunting under his breath, Naruto sent another wall of fire forward, burning his way through the Ants and then standing when smoldering ashes were all that was left. Naruto's minions then lunged forward and collected the life-force from the Mammoth Ants and Larva before quickly scurrying back to Naruto.

"For you!" One declared as it and its friends gave the Life-Force to the blond, then they started to tear into the ants and take whatever they could and even forming the ant's exoskeletons into armor.

"For me!" A Minion now fully covered in an Ants exoskeleton declared with a grin, Naruto shaking his head with amusement. _'These guys are pretty silly, I wonder how any of the Past Overlords managed not to laugh when they did stupid things?'_ The blond Overlord-In-Training wondered to himself before watching Tak walk passed him while still picking at her teeth.

"Twenty down, a billion left to go…" Tak noted mostly to herself while walking passed them and continuing to pick at her teeth. Huffing, Tora leaned her falchion sword into her shoulder while shaking her head as Tak went.

"Why is she such a buzz-kill?" Tora questioned and Naruto shrugged his shoulders before standing back up and following after the Goblin, idly destroying any Ant-Larva he could with Grunge doing the same behind him. Meanwhile the Minions rushed passed Tak, the Goblin stopping and watching as they started to push on a wall.

"What's wrong with your Minions?" Tak questioned as Naruto and the other's approached, the Blond-Overlord shrugging his shoulders before blinking as one of them rushed over to him.

"Master! Something back there!" The Minion declared with a grin and Naruto frowned for a moment before looking to Grunge, the Orc letting out a grunt as he walked to the wall. Cracking his neck, the Orc took a single breath before ramming his shoulder into the wall and pushing with the Minions, causing it to cave in and reveal a hidden room behind it. Walking inside as Grunge dusted himself off, Naruto blinked and looked up to see several shifting shadows flowing in and out of numerous holes in the walls. Blinking for a moment, Naruto then raised his arms as several of the shadows flowed down and swirled around his body.

"What the hell?" Naruto murmured as the black shadowy spheres then flowed away and into one of the larger holes in the walls of the cave.

"_Oooh! Those are Shadow-Unseelie Sire! I believe that Doc might've mentioned them when you two were in the Sewers under the Goblin Keep."_ Naruto heard Gnarl explain and then slowly nodded his head before frowning.

'_Yeah… he did, but all he really told me was that they would probably become addicted to me.'_ Naruto replied and then took a step back as several more of the Shadow-Unseelie suddenly shot out of the walls and started to swirl around him. Watching with wide eyes, Tak reached out for the blond only to jump back as the Shadow-Unseelie started to stab at her with tiny almost invisible knives.

"Milord, are you alright?" Tak questioned while Tora frowned to herself and Grunge watched the swirling mass intently.

"He's fine, they don't seem to want to hurt him… us on the other hand." Grunge replied before the Shadow-Unseelie dispersed as a shadow rose out of the ground and swirled inwards before the blond Overlord-In-Training. The swirling mass then shrunk down into a small eight-inch tall feminine body with what appeared to be a mass of shadows rather than wings shifting and swirling at her back. This Unseelie unlike Kori had a deep grey skin tone with bright violet eyes, she had chin-length black hair with her bangs pulled back behind her pointed ears, while black claws tipped both her fingers and toes, her sharp vampire-esque fangs are visible and hanging over her lower lips, and horns growing from her head and taking the shape of a crown of thorns that centered around a bright red gem at the center of her forehead.

This Faerie was unlike Kori in that she chose to don animal bones, mesh, and what looked like silver chains as her only form of clothing. The mesh was formed over her forearms up to her biceps, leaving her hands and shoulders free, as well as around her shins up her calves and stopping just above her knees, her feet and thighs bare, and finally formed into a choker collar around her neck. Her "Armor" was formed from a bone crotch-piece that had chains wrapping over her hips to make a fo-thong of sorts, bones were also formed together into a chest plate, though it more resembled a bikini top, with chains forming into an X between the two chest pieces and then wrapping over her shoulders to cross her back twice, oddly she wore a chain-belt with red gemstones that hung on her hips, with more silver chains wrapped into jewelry around her wrists with a red gem at the back of either fist, finally she wore silver earrings in the cartilage of her ears and silver spiral shaped bangles over her biceps that had red gems in them.

"Why are you here, Child of The Abyss?" The Tiny Faerie questioned with a raised brow and her head tilted to one side, her voice and tone completely flat unlike the passionate Kori. Blinking for a moment, Naruto scratched his head while trying desperately not to stare at her for too long given how her skin was _**very**_ exposed to view. However, Kori chose that moment to wake up and shot out of his hood before quickly grabbing the other Faerie into a large hug and spinning in place.

"Friend Kara! Kori is overjoyed to see Kara again!" The Flame Unseelie declared and Naruto twitched as seeing the two, very attractive Faeries hugging each other, more Kori than Kara, _**really**_ wasn't helping him kill his inner pervert.

"Kori… didn't we have a discussion about all the hugging?" Kara asked with a look at the orange skinned Faerie and she blinked up at her cutely.

"We did?" She questioned and Kara let out a slight groan while behind Naruto, Tora, Tak, and Grunge watched on silently. Blinking for a moment, Tak then frowned as Kori grabbed Kara by her wrist with a grin. "But please, Kara must meet Kori's new master!" She declared and pulled the other Unseelie closer to Naruto, Tak blinking once more and scratching her head.

"Is it me, or are they a little too friendly with each other?" Tak questioned and Tora silently nodded her head in agreement, having never seen two Unseelie of different sub-races get along so well before… Grunting for a moment, Grunge shook his head and gave both half-breeds an annoyed look.

"Its cause Flame's create Shadows, the two Unseelie types have been allies since before even the Orcs and Goblins lived down here." Grunge explained, and both girls made an Oh with their mouths before turning back to where a very happy Kori was introducing Naruto to the new Faerie.

"Master, allow Kori to introduce Queen of the Shadow-Unseelie, Kori's very good friend, Kara!" Kori introduced while the said Shadow-Unseelie gave her friend a death glare, which was of course completely ignored. Blinking for a moment, Naruto raised a hand and gave a slight wave to the strange Unseelie.

"Hi Kara-Chan…" He offered Kara pleasantly, only for the Young Overlord and Shadow-Unseelie to stop and wonder why that sounded so familiar to both of them. However they quickly shrugged that off and Kara let out an annoyed breath while crossing her arms over her chest.

"Whatever, now about my question?" Kara questioned and Naruto blinked before grinning nervously.

"Oh right, sorry, we came to get rid of the Mammoth-Ants." Naruto replied and Kara blinked before rubbing her chin with a thoughtful expression on her face. "Um… do you mind if I ask just why you're able to speak so much better than Kori?" Naruto then questioned and Kara rolled her eyes for a moment before crossing her legs under herself as she floated.

"She's better at speaking our natural language, I'm better at foreign language, but she speaks like that because we don't have any pronouns in our normal language." Kara explained with a wave of her hand and Naruto slowly nodded his understanding while Kori flew over and sat on his shoulder with a smile on her face. Looking from Kori over to Kara, Naruto then hummed to himself before scratching his head inside his hood.

"Wait, then what does your language sound like?" Naruto questioned of Kara and she rolled her eyes before making a sound that resembled the tinkling of bells with her mouth unmoving. Looking at Kara strangely for a moment, Naruto then reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh… that sounds kind of weird." Naruto noted mostly to himself and Kara shrugged her shoulders before tilting her head to one side as she gazed at the blond haired youth.

"So I take it that you're her Master then?" Kara questioned and Naruto nodded his head, the Shadow-Unseelie humming for a moment before letting out a sigh. "Alright, listen up, I'll join you as well, but I want these ant's gone. They've been eating through our tunnels and they nearly ate my people several times." Kara then stated and Grunge smirked mostly to himself while looking at the Unseelie-Queen.

"We plan on getting rid of them anyways miss, they been eating our homes and crops up above." Grunge offered and Kara shrugged her shoulders and then flew over to Naruto before taking a breath and pulling a bit of his magic into herself and allowing it to flow into her through her mouth. Gulping it down audibly, Kara looked to become very flushed while swaying in the air for a moment. Naruto quickly caught her as she fell from the air, Kori looking on worriedly as Kara began to twitch for a moment or two in his open palms. Waiting for the twitching to stop, Naruto then looked at the faerie worriedly as she sat up, a now vaguely drunken look on her face.

"Are you alright?" Naruto questioned worriedly and the tiny faerie looked up at him for a moment and waved it off.

"Kara… I'm fine… Kara just… I just didn't know Abyss-Dragon Magic tasted like that." She replied as she shook her head and hopped back into the air, flying onto Naruto's unoccupied shoulder within his hooded scarf and made herself comfortable, legs crossed Indian style beneath her. "Now for a gift." Kara then stated before snapping her fingers, causing several more Shadow-Unseelie to fly out while carrying a violet gemstone. Flying over to Naruto, they hovered for a moment and the blond looked to Kara with a raised brow. "It's a Shadow-Gem, it'll help you focus Shadow-Magic to use in combat…" Kara explained with a wave of her hand as she leaned into her fist with a bored expression.

"_Ooh! That will be most helpful in those caves. Shadow-Spells include Cloak of Darkness, Shadow-Walk, Engulfing Darkness, Song of Midnight, Shadow-Blade, Bolt of Darkness, and last but not least Night-Eye; many of which would help you remain undetected in many different situations, while the others are powerful offensive attacks. Quickly Sire, take it! Take it before she changes her mind!"_ Gnarl declared and Naruto looked at the Shadow-Gem warily as a shifting mass of violet, blue, and black vines seemed to twist and churn within it.

'_But… I thought it'd be better for me to learn all my spells rather than take shortcuts. I mean if I lose that gem I won't be able to use Shadow-Magic afterwards now would I?'_ Naruto questioned of the old Minion-Master and Gnarl grunted for a moment before finally replying.

"_Yes sire, but think of this as being similar to your Flame-Gauntlet, it'll let you get the hang of conjuring Shadows until you can do so yourself, at which point it'll just make your Shadow-Spells that much more powerful!"_ Gnarl explained to the blond haired Overlord-in-Training and he hummed for a moment before reaching out and taking the offered gem. The Unseelie then seemed to swirl around his arm for a moment before quickly shooting over into the walls of the cave. Blinking for a moment, Naruto then looked at the Shadow-Gem in his hands before widening his eyes as it sunk into his hand.

"What the hell?" Naruto demanded before stopping and grabbing at his throat with wide eyes. Cursing under her breath, Tak ran over to the young Overlord as he fell to his knees while still clutching at his neck. "What's going on?" He demanded and Kara yawned, Kori watching with wide eyes as he leaned his head back and tried to breath, his throat feeling blocked. Reaching a hand out, Tak checked his neck for a moment before frowning as she saw how panicked the blond was.

"Master, listen to me, you need to calm down, take slow steady breaths! You're not getting enough air and trying to force more in won't help! Just calm down and let the stone take it's course." Tak urged and Naruto nodded his head and did as he was told, taking slow, even breaths as he managed to get a small enough amount of air down his throat that he didn't feel suffocated any longer.

"What's happening to you is really quite simple, Master…" Kara started to explain while cleaning out one of her ears with a bored look. "A Shadow-Gem that comes in contact with any Abyss-Dragon will fuse itself to them. They do so all the time, and their power over Darkness is one of the Abyss-Dragon's most well known qualities." Kara continued as Kori scurried towards Naruto's collar and opened the shirt to find the Shadow-Gem was now stationed at the center of his chest, an oddly shaped hold cut from the flesh and bone around it. "So while you're only a half breed, the gem is still reacting to an Abyss-Dragon and is thus fusing to you…" Kara finished while leaning back as Naruto started to breath normally once more.

Pushing himself up with a groan, Naruto reached to his chest and felt the gemstone there before scowling deeply. _'Gnarl… you knew that would happen, didn't you?'_ Naruto mentally questioned in a low growl and the Minion-Master was silent, clearly dreading his master's wrath.

"_Well… yes, actually. But at least now you won't be losing that stone any time soon."_ Gnarl offered the blond haired youth and Naruto felt his brow twitch before reaching up and pinching the bridge of his nose.

'_Warn me next time something like that is going to happen, alright?'_ Naruto then ordered and heard an _"As you wish, Sire"_ from the old Minion-Master before turning to face the rest of his group. "Let's keep moving, we still need to crush the Mammoth-Ant queen." Naruto stated before cracking his neck and walking forward, never once noticing the mass of silver scales that started to grow from his flesh around the Shadow-Gem now stationed in his chest…

(Up Above…)

Goblin Tenn is known as the most skittish female out of the entire Goblin Horde. Even so, she'd somehow managed to remain free over the years, even given just how weak she was, and while she wasn't too bright, she's still somehow managed to evade any and all males that tried to kidnap her. Why is simple, she was very good at running and hiding. She was as such a perfect scout, able to run in, look around, and then get out to hide while making her way back home. That was why Tenn was up above at the moment, scouting out the area over the Dark-Sanctuary, where humans dwelled. She was currently high in a tree and twitching wildly as the sun hurt her eyes.

Jumping over to a branch, Tenn yelped while clutching it for dear life, she knew she wasn't very quiet; it's why she was a horrible assassin and even worse thief. But she could get around better than other's, which was why when she chose to be a "Rogue" she went with the Scout class over the others in it. Climbing back up, Tenn blinked for a moment as she watched a group of heavily armed humans warily. The Human's were clearly bandits, and they had a cage filled with young women with them, several laughing it up to themselves, a pair of horses dragging the cage behind them while a large brute that resembled an ogre lead them.

'_My oh my I've found something, but should I even bother to mention simple Bandits?'_ The Goblin-Girl wondered to herself as she watched the group come to a stop to make camp.

"_Of course you should, I want you to tell me anything you find!"_ The voice of Shin came in her mind, causing Tenn to clamp her hands over her mouth to prevent from screaming. Looking all around for a moment, Tenn wondered if she was too highly strung for this kind of work, then decided it was better than the alternative.

'_S-Shin? Is that you?'_ Tenn questioned of the Librarian, whom Gnarl left in charge while he was away, and heard a grunt.

"_Yes it's me, I'm using the Overlord-Heart to stay in contact with you. Now, how many bandits are there?"_ Shin questioned of the Goblin Girl and she mentally counted about ten of them.

'_T-Ten, and a big one that looks like an Ogre.'_ She replied and Shin hummed to himself while the female hid in the trees.

"_And what do they have with them?"_ Shin questioned and Tenn looked from the human girls to a large treasure chest.

'_L-Looks like t-treasure, and w-women.'_ She replied and Shin clicked his tongue from the other end of the mental link.

"_I see… return to the Dark-Sanctuary Tenn, I'll contact Gnarl and see if I should send someone up to capture the girls and treasure… you never know when you'll need some decent servants after all."_ Shin replied and Tenn mentally thanked him while slipping out of the tree and landing with a soft plop. Looking around for a moment, she then ran into the woods and lifted the top of a stump, revealing a hidden door, which she quickly slipped into while closing the door behind her. Tenn knew she was something of a coward since she wouldn't even stay long enough to make sure the girls were safe, but honestly, as a scout that made her even better at her job. And besides, she didn't think anyone would really care if the soon to be "servants" were unspoiled or not…

TBC…

Important Characters:

Humans:

Haruno Sakura: Female…

Haruno Ayane: Female, Sakura's younger Sister, and puppeteer, Evil

Minions:

Greys:

Gnarl: Grey Tribe-Leader, Minion-Master

Doc: Physician

Jester / Quaver: Jester and training dummy

Shin: Librarian

Espio: Espionage Agent

Browns:

Giblet: Brown Tribe-Leader, Forge Master

Goby: Captain of The Guard

Grubber / Grubby: Three Stooges 1 / Digger

Gubben: Three Stooges 2

Moldy: Three Stooges 3

Goblins:

Zim: Male, Insane Goblin

Tenn: Female, Scout

Larb: Male, Trap-Maker

Zee: Female, Medic

Skutch: Male, Guard

Skoodge: Male, Soldier

Orc:

Gron Gar'amen: Male, Tora's father, Orc Leader

Grunge Gar'amen: Male, Tora's bodyguard

Unseelie:

Kori: Flame-Unseelie Queen, Naruto's First Familiar

Kara: Shadow-Unseelie Queen, Naruto's Second Familiar

Other:

Tak: Female, Half-Goblin, Half Human, Servant.

Echo: Tak's Brother, Half-Goblin, Half Human, Engineer

Tora: Female, Half-Orc Half-Drow, Warrior

Naruto: Male, Abyss DragonKin / Overlord


	8. Orcs P2

**Disclaimer**: I own anything within; this story is merely a way for me to alleviate boredom…

[Giblet: And we're back!

Gnarl: (Grunt)

Shin: Oh come now Gnarl, most people like Giblet.

Gnarl: (Grumbles under breath)

Lord Pain: In any case, welcome back everyone!

Tak: You seem to be in good spirits.

Zim: Yes! The Overlord must've been pleased by the Almighty Zim's accomplishments!

Tak: (Smirks) You mean getting hit by a stuffed toy that dragged you into the sewers?

Zim: SILENCE!

Lord Pain: In any case, on with the fic.

Jester: As you wish milord!

_**NU**_: _**Dark Lord**_ +

_**Chapter 7**_: _**Orcs Pt. 2**_…

"Normal Speech"…

'_Normal Thoughts_'…

[Radio/Tower Heart In Use]…

"**Jutsu In Use**"…

"**Demon Speech**"…

'_**Demon Thoughts**_'…

"_**Inner Spirit Speech**_"…

(Goblin Keep…)

Shin frowned as he stood near the Overlord-Heart, rubbing his chin lightly as he considered what he should do next. Calling Gnarl had been fairly useless; as the old Minion-Master had ordered him to do whatever he believed would benefit The Overlord the greatest. Thus Shin was now sitting and contemplating what his next move should be. On the one hand, he could save the girls and capture whatever treasures the bandits had, increasing their master's wealth and following. On the other hand, they were human girls, which weren't all that had to find or obtain from the right slavers, and there was also no guarantee that the treasure these bandits had was even worth the effort.

'_Gnarl is supposed to be in charge, yet he shoves this mess onto my shoulders… doesn't even offer a bit of good council, just lets me deal with it all and it's possible repercussions!'_ Shin thought to himself with a scowl across his face before shaking his head and crossing his arms with a thoughtful frown on his face. _'But perhaps I'm thinking about this too logically, our master was raised among humans, and he isn't vicious or cruel… yet… so perhaps by saving the girls we would gain more favor with the master.'_ Shin then thought while rubbing his chin and idly nodding his head, then slipped from his perch and walked out of the room, Espio walking out of the shadows and falling instep behind the second in command.

"Made your decision?" Espio questioned and Shin nodded his head only once as he continued to walk through the halls of the Goblin-Keep. Turning a corner, he came into a room where Skoodge was sitting and talking to several other soldiers, all of them stopping as the two greys entered the room. Reaching up, Shin rubbed at his neck before clearing his throat to gain their complete attention, and then slowly crossed his arms behind his back.

"Listen up, a group of human bandits have been spotted up above us in your territory." Shin started and the Goblins didn't really seem to care, a few humans walking into or even over their territory was a common occurrence after all. "Now then, from Tenn's report on the bandits, among this group is what appears to be a group of captured human females, and a chest that is most likely filled with treasure." Shin continued to explain and saw that they were all much more interested now, as they could probably assume that their war was soon to begin, and the first strike at humanity would be a minor blow, but that The Goblins were the first race to do so, and to be among those Goblins, would be a medal of honor in years to come.

"As of our master and Gnarl leaving I was left in charge. Upon seeking council from Gnarl, he decided that I should handle the situation as I saw fit, and as most profitable to our Master, The Overlord." Shin continued while the Goblins started to look at the grey Minion anxiously, though given just how long they had been underground, that wasn't all too surprising. "Now, after deliberating, I believe it to be in our best interest to obtain both the women and treasure from these bandits, preferably unspoiled." Shin stated while stressing the end and a few Goblins faces fell, before grinning as some of them grabbed their helmets.

"Now then, this is not to be a large battle, as there are only twenty humans in this group of Bandits, not including a large one who resembles an Ogre, be wary of that one as he's their leader." Shin continued while the soldiers started to line up before the grey as he marched in front of them. "First and foremost I want those women secured, the treasure is secondary given the wealth obtained from The Tallests, not only that but I'm sure that the Master would be very pleased with us for protecting them." Shin ordered and several Goblins nodded their heads before the young Grey came to a halt, Espio leaning into a wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Take whatever weapons are available, there are no Thrasher openings in that area or I'd say take one and be done with it. However grab your flamethrowers and shock-cannons, and auto-crossbows. I want this human trash dealt with as quickly as possible, and I mean before the Master returns!" Shin ordered and the Goblins gave a cry before running out of the room, leaving the young Grey to let out a breath and rub at his head with a frown. "Why did Gnarl leave me with so much responsibility?" Shin questioned of no one and Espio walked over to his brother grey and placed a hand onto his shoulder.

"Perhaps he has great plans for you Shin… perhaps he has plans for you…" Espio uttered before slinking back into the shadows, while Shin briefly pondered on what kind of "Plans" the old Minion-Master could possibly have for him…

(Forsaken Caves…)

Naruto walked through the caves with a frown on his face, two faeries sitting on his shoulders hidden by his scarf / hood. He muttered to himself as he spotted more larvas ahead, and then threw a wall of fire forward to torch any and all of the insects in his way. It was pretty boring down here, contrary to what he'd believed the Mammoth-Ants actually weren't too hard to kill. But while that was true, there were just so many of them that they could swarm a person very easily. Thus far it had only been because they kept an eye behind them that they hadn't been surrounded by Mammoth Ants. All and all however, killing the Larva so they wouldn't reach maturity and grow up to be more pests was going a lot better.

In fact, the Minions were smashing any the found, though at the moment one was standing on a Larva husk and pointing forward, several other Minions pushing it forward with a "Hut hut hut!" as they went. _'My Minions are totally insane…'_ The blond mentally decided while shaking his head, and then tossed another Wall of Fire spell forward. Like always the spell burned any and all Larva down the way, before Naruto stopped at an opening at the side with an object sitting in it.

"_Ooh, an Object, I like objects!"_ Gnarl suddenly declared and Naruto snickered before sweeping a few of his excess Minions over to pick the object up. The Minions did so with gusto, four of them quickly surrounding and then picking up the object and easily carrying it, though they swayed slightly from the sheer weight of it. Taking a better look at the object, Naruto frowned seeing an obsidian pedestal with a menagerie of violet runes carved into it, six slots were around the upper portion of the pedestal and there was a strange pattern at the top of the object that looked somewhat movable. Walking over to it, Naruto idly noticed a chest out of the corner of his eye but stowed that away for later, then frowned while looking at the object.

'_Those runes look familiar…'_ He thought to himself before placing a hand onto the object and widened his eyes as a pulse traveled through his body. _'Whoa… this must be an Overlord-Object.'_ Naruto decided while Tora walked up behind him and looked at the stone object with a deep frown on her face.

"What are we going to do with that thing? It'll slow us all down if we try and take it with us!" Tora noted and Naruto reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose before letting out a calming breath. Was it just him, or did Tora purposely try to piss him off for no apparent reason? Because surely she wasn't always this annoying, and certainly her father wouldn't put up with such behavior… let alone would Grunge put up with it.

"My Minions will carry it until I find something else to do with it…" Naruto stated simply and then turned on his heel, the Minions following him with the object, as they had nothing else to do with it. Looking around, the blond then walked over to the chest he saw earlier and kicked it open with a frown on his face, wondering how the thing had managed to get down into these Forsaken Caves in the first place. _'I mean it's not like the Mammoth-Ants would bring it down here.'_ The blond haired Overlord-In-Training decided while looking around inside the chest, then pulled out a few throwing knives which Tak quickly snatched from his hands.

"I'll take those, thank you." She declared and Naruto gave her an annoyed look.

"I can use those as well you know…" Naruto stated and Tak shrugged her shoulders with an amused smirk on her face.

"Yeah, but are you good at it?" Tak questioned with a raised brow and Naruto winced, as he was the worst shot back in the academy, so relented and pulled some gold out of the chest instead.

"Who leaves gold just lying around like this?" Naruto demanded incredulously and Tora rolled her eyes before smirking towards the young Overlord.

"Think of it as a public service, without leaving it around thieves and would be adventurers would have nothing to steal." Tora offered and Naruto palmed his face, Grunge shaking his head, as both girls seemed to want to torment the blond haired youth. _'Is today pick on The Overlord day or something?'_ The said blond wondered to himself before letting out a breath and pulled out a red potion he easily recognized. _'This is one of those healing potions Sylvanas used when I got hurt…'_ He thought while slipping that into his pouch and pushed back up to his feet with a frown.

"Alright that's enough of a distraction, lets keep moving." Naruto stated while walking back down into the tunnels and Tora let out a groan.

"Urgh… how far down do these tunnels go? I mean, how could these things have dug out so much without any of thus ever noticing them before?" She whined and Grunge slapped the back of her head, the Orc girl giving him a hurt look. Rolling his eyes, Grunge crossed his arms and looked around with a frown across his face.

"Stop your bellyaching and just walk. These Tunnels were dug out in a Spiral by the Mammoth-Ants. It's not actually all that long but because of that shape it seems longer than it actually is." Grunge explained and Naruto filed that away, and made a mental note to make a spiral maze in any of his future homes just to piss off any of his would be enemies. _'Then again, do I really want to piss off my enemies before they even manage to fight me?'_ The blond haired youth wondered to himself before shaking his head and throwing yet another Wall of Fire spell forward to burn the Larva ahead of him.

"How much Mana do you actually have? I know bloody sorcerers who can't use a spell that advanced that often!" Tak demanded incredulously and Naruto merely shrugged his shoulders, as he wasn't too sure how much he had himself. In all honesty, he figured it was a lot because he was bonded to the Overlord-Heart, which in itself was a sphere of pure mana that could constantly regenerate its energy. So, he figured his own mana regenerated quickly, or Kyuubi gave him some, either way he could use spells far longer than he liked.

'_I wonder if I should learn more of few more of the basics for the Mage Class, but then again, Gnarl mentioned that some classes could be combined to use multiple different classes as well… so I wonder if a Mage, Rogue, Warrior, and Monk class has ever been developed?'_ The blond haired youth wondered to himself, preferring the "Light" based naming system for the classes than the dark based as "Sorcerer, Assassin, Barbarian, and Brawler" were all a bit more generalized than those of Light. Shaking his head of his aberrant thoughts, the blond threw another Wall of Fire spell forward and crossed his arms over his chest.

"You seem to be fairly well versed with Fire-Based-Spells." Kara noted from within his hooded scarf as she poked her head out of his hood. Blinking for a moment, Naruto looked down to his familiar to see her leaning her cheek into one hand while Kori poked her own head out at the other side with a wide grin.

"Oh yes! Master learns very quickly!" Kori declared with a nod of her head and Naruto raised a brow while looking at his familiar.

"You do remember I have my Flame-Gauntlet to allow me to use higher tier spells right?" Naruto questioned of the tiny Unseelie and she blinked up at him for a moment before chuckling nervously. Rolling her eyes, Kara let out a breath and shook her head at her rather bubbly friends forgetfulness.

"Forgive Kori, she's excitable and usually forgets some things rather quickly." Kara offered and Naruto merely hummed while tossing a wall of fire spell forward whenever he saw more larvas. "You know, I've never seen someone use Wall of Fire as anything but a defensive spell before…" Kara then noticed mostly to herself and Naruto blinked for a moment before shrugging his shoulders.

"This thing lets me do whatever I can imagine with fire, so I figured a moving wall would burn everything faster than a stationary one." Naruto explained and Kara nodded her head, understanding his logic.

"Interesting, though I wonder if you'll be just as creative with Shadow-Magic." She wondered mostly to herself while tapping her chin with a finger and Naruto reached up and scratched his head.

"Why wouldn't I be, Kara-Chan?" Naruto questioned, and then stopped to shake his head as the familiar feeling from before returned. Kara let out a breath at her blond master's question before turning around to where she now lay on her back while looking up at him from his shoulder.

"Simple, unlike Fire-Spells, which are fueled by Passion, Shadow-Magic is more powerful with a lack of emotion. It represents "The Void" from which all Shadow-Magic is derived." Kara explained with a wave of one hand and a bored tone, Naruto blinking for a moment before looking at her strangely.

"That explains why you seem so… well, "dull" or "bored" all the time." Naruto noted more to himself than anyone, Kori giggling to herself while Kara frowned deeply. "So if that's the case then your Shadow-Magic must be really powerful." Naruto added and Kara shrugged her shoulders, and then closed her eyes as she tried to relax. "But how do you actually use Shadow-Magic? I mean, I figured out Fire-Magic feels sort of warm, so what does Shadow-Magic feel like?" Naruto asked his new familiar and the Unseelie Queen opened a single eye before exhaling.

"It's… heavy… and thick… but like water, you can move with it, but it's always weighing you down and holding you back." Kara tried to explain before quirking her lips to one side with a frown as she tried to think of something that would best describe it.

"So… it's like being in a pool of oil or something?" Naruto questioned and Kara blinked while thinking of the analogy for a moment and then nodded her head.

"More or less, but a little thicker. Feeling out Shadow-Magic is harder than with other spells, but since you're an Abyss-Dragon you should be able to do it like it was second nature to you…" Kara replied while closing her eyes and Naruto frowned while then reaching to his chest and closing his eyes. _'Well that was a lot of help…'_ He thought sarcastically before feeling the energy around the Shadow-Gem buried in the center of his chest and then held out his hand before himself. _'But then again, I don't think she likes being a teacher, and Garandou is my dominant portion so…'_ Naruto mused to himself and then widened his eyes as he watched a shadow form in the palm of his hand.

"Whoa…" He whispered while watching as the shadow twitched and twisted around in his palm, before suddenly elongating into a spear. "Oh cool! You can make weapons out of the shadows?" Naruto questioned while turning the spear in his hands Kori oohing as she watched him do so.

"That is most wonderful Master! It took Kara forever to control her powers, and even then, she sometimes crushes or destroys things on accident!" Kori declared happily, though clearly gave out a bit too much information, and Kara opened one of her eyes and looked to the spear with a frown.

"That's not a normal property of Darkness, and that's also not a spear." Kara stated while sitting up and yawning to herself. "That is what I like to call Shadow-Matter, it's a form of Shadow-Magic that's physical rather than ethereal and its best used in the Engulfing-Darkness spell." The Unseelie explained and Naruto blinked before turning the spear around in his hands for a moment longer, then watched as barbs started to form along its length. Blinking for a moment, Naruto then tossed it up and watched as the Shadow-Matter spear faded from existence. Humming lightly, the blond Overlord-In-Training then looked back to Kara.

"Oh… then how do I use Engulfing-Darkness then, Kara-Chan?" The blond haired Overlord-In-Training questioned of his second familiar with a raised brow and she frowned before looking to the forefront of the cave.

"When you find some more Mammoth-Ants I'll fill you in on the basics and help you use it…" She offered and Naruto nodded his head, then turned and frowned as his minions ran ahead of him, one walking on its hands with a grin.

"Done talking to your faerie council then?" Tak questioned of the blond haired youth with a smirk across her face, Naruto giving her an annoyed look before rolling his eyes and crossing his arms.

"Better than talking to a snarky Goblin…" He replied pointedly and Tak frowned, Grunge merely rolling his eyes while Tora walked forward and looked down at both of them. Unfortunately for both Naruto and Tak, her looking down on them was because of her height and not a turn of the phrase…

"Hey, that Faerie has been calling you an Abyss-Dragon, but with the way you look I was thinking you were a High-Elf." Tora noted and Naruto blinked before grinning up at her. Quickly reaching back, Naruto removed one of his Tanto and looked at his reflection in the blade. Frowning to himself he pulled back his hood and widened his eyes as he remembered Sylvanas had shown him a picture of herself in her youth, when she had blond hair and bright glowing blue eyes. And so looking at himself now, Naruto couldn't help but feel that he could very easily pass off as her son.

"Cool… but do you really think I look like a High-Elf?" The blond asked with excitement, and then chuckled nervously as Tora raised a brow at his tone. In all honesty, he'd always thought of Sylvanas as his mother, so having something that made him similar to her was sort of nice, and hell, maybe he could even live as long as she could now. _'Well that is certainly a perk to being part Dragon… wait a minute, what about the Dragon-Aspects, what'll they do when they find out about me?'_ Naruto wondered to himself with a shiver as he'd heard stories of what happened to Deathwing and Malygos, who were their brothers, and could only imagine what they might do to him.

"Yeah… too much like a High-Elf actually." Tora replied and Naruto grimaced upon remembering how much Orcs and High-Elves didn't get along. Normally it was because High-Elves could, and Sylvanas readily admitted to this, be very haughty and arrogant. Not to mention they would often think of Orcs as dumb brutes that only knew how to swing a club or an ax. In all actuality that seemed to be as far from the truth as possible given how civil the Orcs were, but then again, who knew what orcs acted like in the lands of Azeroth.

"Anyways, why did you mention me being an Abyss-Dragon?" Naruto asked Tora while replacing his hood over his head and ears, mostly in order to change the subject, and she blinked before frowning to herself.

"I was wondering how you look so normal… most Dragons are huge and scaly, and as dad says most are "Ten tons of muscle with a brain the size of a walnut"." Tora replied with air-quotes and Naruto felt his brow twitch while his eyes flashed a brilliant crimson red, a low growl echoing from his throat.

"Oh really… and what else did he have to say about us?" Naruto asked with an evil grin under his mask, Grunge moving quickly to cover Tora's mouth before she got her father into even more trouble with the young Overlord.

"Not much Sire, but he's never met a High-Born Dragon so it's no surprise that's how he thinks of them." Grunge offered quickly while giving his niece a glare, Naruto frowning while crossing his arms over his chest. However the girl then blinked while looking to her uncle quizzically.

"A "High-Born Dragon" what does that mean? Is it like a High Elf?" Tora asked her uncle curiously and Grunge silently nodded his head. Being a high-born was actually a bit more than just being smarter than other Dragons, but Grunge didn't feel the need or the motivation to explain the intricacies to his niece at the moment.

"Right… but in any case, I'm only part Dragon, as are all the Overlords." Naruto replied and Tora blinked before wondering how it was possible for a Dragon and any other creature to possible bear children given the size of most Dragons.

"But how…?" She started to ask only for Grunge to cover her mouth again while muttering under his breath. Hearing a sudden chattering from up ahead, the group quickly readied their weapons, Kara flying out of Naruto's clothes and hovering in front of him.

"Alright Sire, listen, to use Engulfing Darkness you need only create a ball of Shadow-Matter. That ball will remain stationary and ensnare anything that comes into contact with it." Kara explained and Naruto nodded his head while bringing a hand to his chest to feel the Shadow-Gem's power once more. Mentally copying the feeling into his hand, the blond created a sphere of shadows that had wisps of darkness wafting off of it. Nodding her head, the Shadow-Unseelie Queen then narrowed her glowing violet eyes as several Mammoth-Ants approached them. "Alright, now!" Kara ordered while spinning around his arm as the first Mammoth-Ant approached them, Naruto tossing the sphere forward, where it exploded into a mass of tentacles that flailed out and wrapped around any of the Mammoth-Ants and stabbed into them to hold them still.

"Holy Shit!" Naruto exclaimed with wide eyes, Tora gaping at the ability while Tak flipped several of her Throwing Knives in hand for a moment before quickly tossing five of them forward, nailing each of the immobile Mammoth-Ants in the head.

"Sire, there is nothing even remotely holy about that spell…" Kara noted with an amused smirk and Naruto just continued to gape as the shifting shadows hovered for a moment before fading into the darkness.

"Un-holy Shit then…" Naruto replied and Kara raised a brow before rolling her eyes and floating back onto his shoulder, sitting outside of his hood as she had a feeling that more Ants would be heading their way soon. As she did, Naruto walked over to where the Ants had been, idly absorbing the life-force while trying to shake the awe out of his system. "Wow, that was incredible!" He declared and Tora silently nodded her head in agreement, Tak smirking as she walked passed all of them.

"Eh, Spells like that are best used with an Assassin or Sniper nearby. That way you can kill groups of enemies all off quickly." Tak noted and Naruto blinked before conceding the Goblin Girl's point, though still thought the attack had looked cool.

"In any case we should keep moving. There's no telling what those Mammoth Ants are doing with us down here." Grunge noted while ushering the group forward, Naruto calling his Minions with him as they were searching every which way for treasure and smashing any Larva in their way. Going back to throwing a Wall of Fire forward every now and again, Naruto fell into a routine of such before watching the Minions push on a wall like the one Kara had been behind.

"Do you have anymore people down here?" Naruto questioned and Kara shook her head to the negative, and then blinked when Grunge shoved the wall back, revealing a stone object with red markings.

"_Sire! You've found a Health Column! Wonderful! I'll create a Waypoint gate nearby, place the Column and that earlier object you found onto it and it'll be sent to the Overlord-Heart for safe-keeping."_ Gnarl's voice echoed out in Naruto's mind, the blond raising a brow before sweeping the minions over to collect the column.

"What are you doing? That things gonna slow us down even more!" Tora declared while glaring at Naruto and the blond twitched while wondering why the girl didn't have any patience.

"Just shut up and watch…" Naruto ordered, Tora growling at him even as the Minions carried the Column out of the hidden room and over to the side. A circular platform them seemed to form out of the earth, a three pronged swirl atop it that vaguely reminded Naruto of a whirlpool. _'Hmm… maybe that's what my ancestors used as their symbol…'_ Naruto thought to himself while the Minions placed the Obsidian pedestal down onto the platform first, then backed up as it was enveloped in a bright light and a shower of sparks.

"_Master, you've found our Transport-Generator! I haven't seen that in a dog's age! Excellent, with this I'll be able to send you to the other lands across the world! Though at the moment I fear I'll only be able to send you to Albion."_ Gnarl explained and the blond haired youth held his Minions back from putting the Health-Column down and looked up with a frown.

'_Why would I only be able to go to Albion, Gnarl?'_ The blond Overlord-In-Training suddenly questioned of the old Minion-Master curiously. As he didn't see a point in going to Albion, beyond it being the ancestral motherland of his family.

"_Nothing really, but I felt Albion was the best place for you to go because of the fact it's unaware of most outside nations, not to mention there are only humans there. Though I suppose I could send you somewhere else if you ever felt the need, Albion has a few things we need for our growing empire. As a nation of only humans, their magic is highly limited, but they do have some technology that would be useful to us. Besides that it takes quite a bit of Mana to use, and even the Overlord-Heart has its limits."_ Gnarl explained to the blond haired Overlord-In-Training and Naruto slowly nodded his head before sweeping his Minions to the Way-Point Gate with the Health-Column.

They quickly walked onto it and set it down, only yelping as it was placed on top of its foot. Two more minions quickly grabbed that one by its arms and pulled it away from the Health-Column, where it then started rubbing its foot. As they did that the Health-Column gave off a pulse before it vanished in a flash of light and a shower of brilliant sparks. Widening his eyes, Naruto swayed for a moment, his body glowing bright crimson, before stumbling to a wall and put a hand to his head as he felt a sudden rush of energy.

"_Master! You've acquired a Health-Column, now your stamina, regeneration, and lifespan have increased!"_ Gnarl declared with a grin in his tone while Naruto groaned lightly, and shook his head to clear it of the cobwebs. As he did however, more silver scales started to sprout on his body, starting at his feet and ending at his shins below his knees, or the scales that started to spread over his chest from the pulsating Shadow-Gem. However Naruto never took notice of this, instead merely pushing off of the wall and trying to re-orientate himself.

"Wow… that was quite a rush." Naruto muttered lowly and then walked passed Tora, who stared at his now scaly and clawed toes with wide eyes. Noticing how no one was following him, the blond haired youth turned his head to look at the others with an annoyed frown. "Hey, c'mon. I thought we were trying to get this done quickly." Naruto noted before shaking his head and continuing down into the caves with his Minions behind him, Tora looking to Grunge and Tak.

"Did he just sprout scales on his feet?" She questioned of both and they silently nodded their heads to the Orc-Girl. "Good, at least I'm not crazy…" Tora muttered to herself before following after the blond Overlord-In-Training with Tak and Grunge closely in tow…

(Konoha…)

Zim was hanging upside down with a wide grin on his face; his PAK was unfolded, the segmented plates folded down with three spider-legs unfolded out of it, the ends of the hooked around a beam. _'I won't allow that filthy stink-beast female to deny Zim! None shall deny Zim!'_ The tiny Goblin mentally declared while watching Ayane as she walked to her school, a book in her hands and a backpack on her back. Narrowing his eyes, Zim looked from the purple haired girl to the other children walking towards the "Skool" as he thought of it, yet none of them had on backpacks. _'Hmm… why does filthy stink-beast where that PAK when no other humans do?'_ Zim wondered to himself before shaking his head and twisting forward and flipping into the air.

Extending his new Spider-Legs the Goblin grinned at just how well they were working for him. It seemed that unlike his many failed attempts at inventing before, these legs were perfect in both use and make. They hadn't fallen apart, they were strong and sturdy, and best of all they made him look taller! Chuckling darkly to himself, Zim used the legs to climb on top of a building before lunging across the rooftops with a wide grin stretched across his face. _'Do not think for even a second that I will allow you to get away from my wrath Pig-Stink Female! No one humiliates the almighty Zim! No one!'_ The tiny Goblin inwardly declared while sliding to a halt on a building directly across from the Konoha Shinobi Academy.

Down below, Ayane was content to ignore the world and everyone around her, especially since most people were utterly annoying. Take for instance her Sister, when they were little her sister had always insisted on walking her to school for safeties sake or some such nonsense… one week later Ayane had her puppets take Sakura away for some "Reeducation" as she really didn't like having to walk to school with her. Not that Ayane didn't like school, but she didn't really enjoy flower arranging or tea-ceremony classes as she wasn't interested in becoming one of those crazy assassins who had to sleep with their targets to kill them…

Ayane also had a bone to pick with her classmate Sarutobi Konohamru, a brat of the highest order who spent most of his time trying to "attack" their leader the Hokage. The boy also had it in his head that she was too gloomy and needed help to brighten up, so he'd made it his mission in life to get her to smile… thus far she'd had to reframe from actually hurting the boy, lest she possibly incur the Hokage's wrath. _'Still doesn't mean I have to like it, he messes with my books again and I swear I'm sending him to a nightmare realm…'_ The purple haired lass thought to herself with a light growl while the puppet Foxx at her waist suddenly looked up of its own accord.

"_**Come now little 'Yane, if he annoys you so much, then just skin him and grind his body to bloody bits! Bring me blood and I'll make you strong!"**_ Foxx demanded while grinning up at her and the girl frowned while narrowing her eyes and cutting a subconscious Chakra-String she'd created without even thinking. That had been happening very often lately, and as she watched Foxx hang lifelessly at her side once more, she couldn't help but wonder if maybe she was going crazy. Shrugging that thought off, Ayane then returned to her book without a care in the world.

'_Eh, we're all a little crazy sometimes.'_ She decided with a shrug while continuing her research on Akasuna no Sasori, whom was widely revered as a prodigy of the highest order in his use and creation of Puppets. She'd been researching this one man for quite some time actually, ever since she accidentally came across him in one of the files her father let her read, on the rare occasion that he was home. The Man had something she wanted to make, Human-Puppets, Puppets made out of men and women that retained the abilities and Jutsu of those they were made from…

Meanwhile above the girl, Zim scratched his head while watching the female enter into the Shinobi Academy with a frown. Narrowing his eyes, Zim scrunched up his face for a moment before crouching with his legs and launching himself across the way. Landing on top of the academy, Zim used his legs to walk across the roof before hooking the legs onto the side of the building and lowering himself slightly to look in the first window he could. Unfortunately his target wasn't there, annoying him greatly, as he didn't want to risk being spotted by other humans just to look for her. Returning to the roof with a frown, Zim retracted his Spider-Legs and started to pace with a frown.

'_This is most annoying, how can Zim obtain the Stink-Beasts technology if she hides from Zim?'_ Zim wondered as the obvious method of just going to her home and stealing another Puppet never even came to mind… not that it would've helped given they weren't technically machines but… _'Zim will just have to weight for the filthy Stink Beast… but Zim can't stay out in the open.'_ Zim thought to himself and crossed his arms with a frown on his face as he tried to figure out how to deal with his conundrum.

'_Hmmm… Zim will be here until Zim gathers information for his Overlord, so Zim should find a place to call Zim's own… like the sewers! Yes! And that way Zim can plan out evil horrible things to do to all the human pig-smellies of this pathetic little village!'_ Zim thought to himself before chuckling lightly, then started to laugh, before finally breaking out into full-blown maniacal laugh, his arms raised high into the air. Soon stopping to catch his breath, Zim looked around to make sure no one saw him, then rushed away with a grin, slipping down a gutter to the ground and rushing over to a manhole.

"You should all beware, filthy Human Stink-beasts, for your doom has arrived! And his name is ZIM!" The goblin declared before laughing once more as he hopped down into the sewers, his laughter echoing out of it as he rushed through the slime incrusted tunnels to find a place to build a suitable lair for his needs…

(Forsaken Caves…)

The group were _**still**_ walking down through the tunnels, the sheer length of them annoying Tora to no end as her eye was visibly twitching. She was no regretting coming down her, only for the fact that the tunnels didn't seem to have a damn end! Tak was merely picking at her teeth with her throwing-knives, seeing no reason to be so stressed out about the tunnels, as they had Grunge and Naruto to deal with the Ants. Grunge was silently keeping watch, though was also appraising the young Overlords' power. At first he didn't think much of him, but judging by just how much Mana the blond haired youth had he was quickly reevaluating that thought. As for the young Overlord himself… at the moment he was learning yet another Shadow-Magic-Spell from Kara.

Which is why there is a moving shadow slithering in front of the group, the Minions following it loyally before it then stretched upwards into a shape. Naruto then appeared out of a burst of shadows, his grin nearly splitting his face under his mask, while Kara rolled her eyes from his shoulders. The blond was far too amused by such simple spells in her own opinion, shaping Shadows into weapons was far harder, but Naruto took to Shadow Magic like a duck to water, as she had originally suspected he would given he was an Abyss-Dragon.

Kori on the other hand was happily clapping as they came out of the shadows, having never traveled like that before she could honestly see the benefits. Not only did your physical body stay completely submerged in Shadow, making it impossible to be physically harmed, but also it was a faster mode of travel than others. "Most Wonderful Master! Please, would you use another spell?" Kori questioned and Naruto blinked before grinning as he thought about it for a moment, then stopped as they entered into a large opening with a hole in the center. Looking around, Naruto noticed several holes, which had Ants crawling out towards them, then sighed.

"Sorry Kori, but I think we're finally getting closer to the Queen." Naruto replied with a pout, as he actually did want to learn more spells, only to gape as an Ant that was easily bigger than him, standing at roughly six feet tall while still walking on all its legs, walked out with a loud sound… "Is that the queen?" Naruto questioned while backing up and Grunge scowled deeply as he glared at the enormous Mammoth Ants, and then frowned as two more walked out towards them.

"Hardly, those are only half her size and don't have wings." Grunge replied and even Tora gaped at that tidbit of info, having never thought the Queen would be _**that**_ big!

"Unholy Shit…" Naruto mumbled, Kori and Kara looking at him for a moment before shrugging as they slipped into his hood to hide. Shaking her head, Tak flipped her Throwing-Knives in her hands before giving her young Master a look.

"Master, if I might make a suggestion, use Engulfing-Darkness, then your moving Wall of Fire, That'll deal with the small fries while we deal with the big ones directly." Tak offered while looking on and Naruto quickly nodded his head, Kara and Kori flying back out, though his Shadow-Familiar looked rather annoyed.

"I know I'm not going to like this mission…" Kara decided before spinning around Naruto's right forearm, Kori grinning as she flew to Naruto's right forearm.

"Into glorious battle friends! Charge!" She declared boisterously before spinning around his right forearm, Naruto quickly conjuring Shadow-Matter into his left hand, and a fireball into his right. Throwing his left arm forward, Naruto sent out a bolt of Shadows that quickly exploded into a mass of Shadowy Tentacles that wrapped around the majority of the Mammoth-Ants. The few stragglers quickly charged, but Naruto then swung his right arm, sending a wall of fire forward that scorched through everything in its path while the largest Mammoth Ants were still standing.

"Lets go!" Tora declared loudly while lunging forward and jumping on top of one of the Mammoth-Ants. Grinning, the half-breed held onto the ant as it thrashed about before charging at a wall. Flipping off of it, Tora snickered when the gigantic Mammoth-Ant smashed into the wall, dropping several boulders on to of it. She then blinked as Grunge threw his ax at her, only to turn and see a large Mammoth Ant with the said ax now imbedded in its skull.

"Don't get too cocky…" Grunge warned before lunging passed her and picking up his ax to attack the next large ant. Naruto sweeping his Minions around behind it where they jumped onto its back and started to stab into it with their weapons. The ant quickly went down, however with its dying cry more of the smaller Mammoth Ants suddenly lunged out of the holes in the walls towards them. Grunting in annoyance, Naruto formed a fireball into his hands and knelt down before pushing it into the ground, causing geysers of fire to rise up in a circle around his body that somehow left his allies completely unscathed… the Mammoth Ants and Larva however were not so lucky, with only a few of the ants surviving the attack.

"That was new." Naruto noted and Kori rolled her eyes while yawning from his shoulder with a smile.

"That is most basic spell in Fire-Magic next to Fireball or Flamethrower, Flame Ring." Kori offered and Naruto blinked before slowly nodding his head and then turned to his allies to see Grunge and Tora killing the last of the Ants, his Minions collecting Lifeforce and more equipment. Looking to Tak, Naruto noticed her staring at him for a moment before she then crossed her arms.

"You really need to stop surprising me with all those spells you come up with on the fly…" She stated while walking passed the blond, Naruto rolling his eyes while absorbing the Life-Force from their kills, only to stop and sway when the sheer amount of it hit him at full force. _'I don't care what Gnarl says, I am never going to get used to that at this rate.'_ Naruto thought to himself before shaking his head and walking over to look down into the circular hole in the ground below them. Tora and Grunge soon followed them, while the Minions held back behind Naruto as per usual.

"Anything down there?" Naruto asked Tak and she frowned deeply before giving the blond haired Overlord-in-Training a look.

"It's too dark to see a bloody thing down there." She stated flatly and Naruto hummed before reaching a hand up and allowed Kara to hover over it.

"Think you can check for Mammoth Ants?" Naruto questioned and Kara crossed her arms over her chest before vanishing into a shadow and zipping into the darkness of the tunnels below them.

"Those faeries are pretty useful…" Tora suddenly noted and Grunge nodded his head in full agreement with his niece. Tak snorted at that and then reached up to yawn as she leaned back with one eye closed.

"Only if you're the Overlord." She stated, getting a rather scathing look from Naruto, while Tora nodded her head in agreement with her. Meanwhile, Kara looked around down below, checking to make sure no Mammoth Ants were waiting for them, then zipped back up when she didn't see any.

"All clear… but you might wanna torch some Larva before you go down." Kara replied and Naruto nodded his head, forming a fireball into his hand and then sending it down into the caves below in a wave. Once that was done, Naruto slipped down into the hole, followed by the others as he lit up the cavern and started to burn the rest of the Larva that he had missed with his earlier attack.

"There a bloody piles of Larva down here!" Tak declared with wide eyes while looking at a six-foot pile of larva wiggling on top of one another. At seeing this Naruto shivered as he had this thing about insects, mostly slimy ones, and this was really pushing his limits. "And is it me, or are they actually getting bigger?" The Goblin-Girl demanded while Naruto noticed it as well but wisely decided not to comment as he formed a fireball into his hands and tossed it at the pile of Larva, which then exploded in a shower of smaller fireballs, setting a larger area of the Larva on fire to burn the upper ones first, then down to the lower ones.

"I really don't care if they are, lets just get moving and finally put a stop to this stupid Ant Queen once and for all." Naruto urged his companions, gaining nods of agreement, and then walked down another tunnel, still throwing a wall of fire ahead in order to burn through more Larva and any stray ants. As he did, Naruto noticed that the Larva Piles were getting larger and larger, most likely meaning they were getting closer to the queen herself. Soon coming to a circular opening in the cave, Naruto grunted seeing several more large ants, fire ants, soldier-ants, and worker-ants scurrying towards them from out of the numerous holes in the room's walls.

"Is it just me, or is anyone else getting sick of Ants?" Tora suddenly questioned, getting full agreements from her companions as Naruto formed Engulfing Darkness into his hand and threw it forward to hold the Ant's back. Lunging forward, Tora and Grunge started to mow down the ants while Naruto formed a fireball between his hands and then slammed it down into the ground, sending out a ring of fire that burned through the ants that were closest to them. Crouching and lunging forward after that, Naruto swept his minions into the fray while jumping up and started to swing his claws into the annoying ants as he didn't feel like using his Tanto. _'I mean what's the point of having claws if I'm not going to use them?'_ The blond thought to himself while kicking an Ant back and then stabbing it in the head with his fingers.

Tora moved to evade the ants as they broke out of The Engulfing Darkness, the few remaining being stronger than those that were already dead. _'Annoying ass ants, I shouldn't 've come, this is so much more annoying, I thought we'd be in an epic battle or something, not annoyed by the sheer number of these things!'_ The Orcish girl mentally exclaimed while jumping as one of the Giant-Ants tried to bite into her. "Eat this!" She declared while jumping up and bringing her falchion down threw its head, then roared while ripping the ant's head from its body. Throwing the head to the side, Tora then twisted on her heel into a swing of her leg, kicking the body of the ant into another one that Grunge lunged at and swung his ax down into its head.

Grunge himself was also a little annoyed with all the ants, but one couldn't really blame him for it. He was more used to using his bow and arrows, while he was competent with axes as most Orcs were, he just wasn't comfortable with them. Rolling back as a Giant Ant tried to bite into his waist, the massive Orc then swung upwards with his ax, slicing cleanly through the ant's head. _'If I only had a gold coin for each ant I've killed today…'_ Grunge thought to himself as he'd heard stories from other Orcs of gold-coins randomly appearing after they killed wolves and rats and such. Of course Grunge never put much stock in such insanity, but still, the stories they told of amassing great wealth by finding loot that way was pretty appealing.

'_Too bad it's all just stories.'_ Grunge thought to himself while twisting into a low kick to knock an Ant off balance and then slammed his ax into its head. Narrowing his eyes as even more Ants started racing towards them, Grunge was now certain that they were very close to the Queen, and unfortunately that meant that her defenses were going to be even more hellish to deal with. _'Best finish with these pests and get moving to finish this, I don't like being down here…'_ Grunge thought to himself while slamming a fist into an Ant, crushing it into pulp before lunging into the mass of Ants, the minions following him and jumping onto any in their way, even as an Ant ate one of their own.

Tak on the other hand, was just frowning as she sent knife after knife forward and into the mass of Ants. Not her good knives of course, but the steel ones that Naruto had picked up earlier from the chest. _'Course I won't use my Glass Knives on these insects, not only are they expensive but I'm saving those for something more dangerous than a bunch a bloody ants.'_ The Goblin-Girl decided inwardly before flipping into an Ax kick to one of the heads of the ants and twisted around, sending four knives flying into the ants and killing one of them. The Minions then jumped onto the ones that were hit by the knives and some even started to collect them and use them rather than the clubs they had or the ant pincers they were using as clubs / swords.

'_Well at least that's better than them going to waste…'_ Tak decided while then flipping over an ant and throwing a knife down into its head with a smirk on he face. She was actually a much better fighter with a sword than she was with her dinky little throwing knives. But she hadn't really thought to bring one or even expected to get into a combat situation on this trip. This was mostly because Gnarl had made her a servant, so she had prepared for any such duties, which wouldn't require her weapons or armor. Instead she had expected to be ordered to do menial tasks and stuff that Naruto didn't want too, not to play the part of a bodyguard.

Admittedly she sort of preferred the role of a Bodyguard, but still… she hadn't planned for such a role so she hadn't thought to bring a better weapon than her knives. Still, she was somewhat ill equipped for her current situation in these Forsaken Caves, but her new "Master" seemed more than capable with his immobilizing spell, Engulfing Darkness, that it didn't really matter. _'Course that will all change when we reach the Queen.'_ Tak noted with a deep frown on her face as she held four knives between her fingers and started to use them like claws. She swung her arm and then jumped into the air to bring her fist down on top of an unlucky Ant.

Meanwhile, Naruto used his Shadow-Step to move through the ants and then lunged up out of them with his arms pointing upwards. Swinging into a spin Naruto used his claws to slice through several of the ants before narrowing his eyes dangerously. _'Insignificant worthless little wretches… __**it's time for all of you to die like the worms you are!'**_ Naruto thought to himself darkly even while his eyes turned a deep burning blood red. Lunging forward with a roar, Naruto ducked low and swiped his claws upwards, ripping right through the head of a Giant-Ant before kicking off of the ground and spinning into a powerful kick that sent the Giant-Ant flying back into the group of ants closest to Tora, knocking them all over.

Landing on all fours, Naruto stayed in a low crouch while a low growl echoed in the back of his throat. Breathing in and out deeply, a deep black haze started to form around Naruto as he glared at the ants furiously. _**'I hate this, these stupid ants just don't stop coming and coming and coming! Urgh! I want to end them all once and for all! I'm gonna rip them all to shreds!'**_ He thought to himself in a demonic roar as he lunged into the fray, using Shadow-Step to pass by their defenses he quickly twisted into a spin and brought his hands down and into two ants before twisting in place and sending them both flying away. Ducking with a curse, Tak then looked up with wide eyes to see Naruto roaring loudly, then crouch on all fours and move with unreal speed.

The blond haired Overlord-In-Training swung his arms wildly, slicing through any and all of the ants in his path before flipping up and bringing his heel down on top of one of the ants, smashing it in a spray of gore. Seeing a Fire-Ant heading towards him, Naruto formed a fireball into his hand which he then formed into a shield as the fire-ant sent a fireball at him. Flicking his arm back, lightning collected in his palm as he swung his arm, a Lighting Whip arching out to lash at the ant, sending it flying back into a wall where it was instantly smashed. Growling low in his throat, Naruto formed lightning into either hand before twisting on his heels and started to swing both Lightning Whips into the many Ants around him.

"Is that normal?" Tora asked as she moved over to Tak who mutely shook her head with wide eyes as the blond jumped into the air formed a fireball into both hands, which he then slammed together. Roaring loudly he then came back down onto the ground and slammed his locked fists down into the ground, sending out a wave of fire that burnt through the last of the remaining ants and even melted some of the rocks near by. "So then… I'm guessing _**that**_ is the true Power of the Overlord." Tora mumbled in shock while Tak just gaped in silence while Naruto gripped his head with a pained growl.

'_**Urgh… my head… it feels like an orc is tap-dancing on my brain!'**_ The blond thought to himself before taking several calming breaths, his eyes paling before returning to their original azure hue. As that happened the black and crimson haze around his body began to fade, leaving the blond tired as he fell to his knees. _'Just what the hell was that? I've never had my temper flare up so badly before…'_ Naruto thought to himself before holding up a hand and pulling the Life Force from around the room into himself, groaning as he felt the amount enter him. _'Still not used to that.'_ He decided inwardly and then slowly stood up, a hand still clutching the side of his aching skull.

"Uh… Master? Are you alright?" Tak questioned worriedly while walking towards the blond haired Overlord-In-Training and Naruto looked at her with one eye.

"Fine…" He growled out in a groan and then shook his head and turned towards the opening at the end of the room. "Now lets go deal with the queen and get the hell out of here." Naruto grumbled out while walking waving his hand to recall his Minions, the browns rushing to their master loyally while Tak looked to Tora and Grunge.

"You as worried about that as I am?" Tak questioned and Tora nodded her head with wide eyes, Grunge merely grunting as he walked passed them and followed the young Overlord. Looking to one another for a moment, Tak and Tora then followed the older Orc into the Queen's chamber to see Grunge and Naruto looking at the far wall. Following their gaze, the girls widened their eyes upon seeing a twenty-foot long, ten foot tall ant with wings barely visible on its back, and was partly obscuring what looked like a massive egg-sack, its massive eyes glaring at them as it let out a screech.

"Well… at least it shouldn't be able to move with that stupid…" Naruto started to say only for the queen to move its legs, pulling itself free and then flapping its wings rapidly to rise into the air… "Me and my big mouth…" Naruto muttered before looking to either side as dozens more ants headed towards them.

"Bloody Hell!" Tak declared while Tora and Grunge cursed, Naruto grunting as he swept half of his Minions to either side.

"Tora, Grunge, split up and help my Minions deal with those Ants, Tak you're with me against the queen." Naruto ordered quickly before cursing and rolling back as the Queen spat out a wad of green acid at him. The acid made contact with the ground where he had been instead, and quickly started to dissolve the rock and dirt into a puddle. _'Note to self, do __**not**__ let any of that shit hit me…'_ The blond haired Overlord-In-Training mentally decided to himself, before cracking his neck and fingers with a frown on his face. "Alright Queeny, it's time for you to go down!" Naruto declared while forming a Lightning Whip in one hand and Shadow-Matter in the other.

Quickly hurling the Shadow-Matter at the Queen, Naruto managed to catch her in a flail of shadowy-tentacles. "Now Tak!" Naruto ordered and the Goblin-Girl didn't need to be told twice as she started to throw her Knives at the Queen, some of them only just barely managing to pierce into the Queen's thick exoskeleton. Swinging his own arm, Naruto sent a Lightning-Whip at the Queen, only to frown when she didn't seem to be as affected by it as her smaller subjects had. _'Not surprising given her size, but I thought with her immobile and in the air I'd have the advantage…'_ The blond thought to himself before widening his eyes as The Queen managed to break free of his Engulfing Darkness.

Cursing Naruto then ducked out of the way of some poison before rushing at Tak and tackling her to the ground before some would've got her as well. Turning to look at the Queen, Naruto grabbed Tak into a hug and rolled with her out of the way as she tried to take a bite out of the two of them. Quickly springing back onto his feet with a disorientate Tak at his side, Naruto narrowed his eyes onto the Queen as she turned back towards them. However, Naruto looked around and rolled back into a small opening, far too narrow for the queen and she was left struggling to bite into them threw the narrow trench as Naruto took a momentary breather.

At the same time Tora and Grunge were dealing with the smaller ants, the brown Minions helping even as some of them were eaten. "This isn't good! There's way more ants down here than anywhere up above!" Tora declared while twisting into a kick, then saw a shield laying to the side and rolled over to it. Grabbing it with her left arm, Tora then twisted around, bashing the old shield into the face of one of the ants before narrowing her eyes as they continued to approach. _'Oh great, and I was excited about coming down here…'_ The Orcish Girl grumbled inwardly before twisting her Falchion into a reverse grip and lunging into the fray of Ants once more.

At the other side of the room, Grunge was experiencing much the same, only he was using his two Axes to quickly slice and cut his way through any Ant that got too close to him. However when he saw several Giant-Ants heading his way, the large Orc grunted before throwing one of his Axes at the Giant-Ant, piercing its head while a Soldier-Ant bit into a Minions leg and then dragged it kicking and screaming into the wall. _'No doubt as food…'_ Grunge noted to himself while kicking an Ant away and slicing into another, then lunged over to his other Ax and ripped it out of the remains of the Ant as he found himself being quickly surrounded by their sheer numbers.

As this was happening, Naruto ducked under an Acid bolt from the Queen, still hanging onto Tak before rolling under the Queen, causing her to look down and actually fall forward. Flipping out behind the Queen and sliding into a crouch, Naruto then raised a brow upon seeing the Queen pushing herself back up. _'I honestly didn't think that would happen…'_ Naruto thought with a blink of his eyes, and then noticed that the ants had taken out the majority of his Minions. "Kori! Kara! We could use some extra magic here!" Naruto declared and his two familiars quickly flew out of his hood, Kori looking around before grinning widely.

"Burn them all! Burn their flesh to Ash! Seer their very souls to the core! And let their dying thoughts be the sight of glorious flames!" She declared before zipping into the fray while setting her body on fire and ramming into the nearest Ant. It had the affect of the ant panicking and ramming into its brethren, quicly causing a chain reaction of them ramming into one another wildly. Watching on with a grin, the Flame-Unseelie covered her mouth while chuckling, before suddenly rearing her head back and laughing loudly to herself as she watched on with wicked amusement… Both Naruto and Kara blinking owlishly when she did so.

"You know… she's so cute and bubbly all the time that I actually forget she's still evil…" Naruto noted mostly to himself and Kara nodded her head in agreement with her master, before glaring at the Ants where Grunge was.

"Enough of this…" Kara grumbled irritably before zipping towards the ants and formed several blades of shadows over her arms. Swinging her arms, the Shadow-Unseelie sent several blades out, the blades of darkness cutting through the ants like a hot-knife through butter. Floating over them with a stern expression, the Shadow-Unseelie then formed a sphere of Darkness into her hands before twisting around and throwing it up into the air.

"Let fear take you as your soul burns away!" Kara uttered darkly as the sphere of Darkness began to glow with a sinister light before suddenly swirling down into the mass of ants, creating a horrid fiery wind that burned the ants while tearing their exoskeletons apart, Grunge quickly rolling out of the way with wide eyes. Watching on with a shocked look as his Familiars showed just how powerful they really were, Naruto reached up and scratched at his head.

"I didn't know they could do that…" Naruto noted before cursing as the Queen very nearly bit his head off of his shoulders. Looking at her with a frown, Naruto released Tak who quickly lunged over and out of the way as the Queen charged at the blond haired youth. Running at her, Naruto ducked down and avoided her teeth before stabbing his claws up into her underbelly and dragged out two long deep gashes out of her, scowling as she shrieked but didn't go down. Rolling forward, Naruto quickly turned towards the Queen while picking a rock off of the ground with narrowed eyes. The Queen lurched forward in her charge, ramming into the wall where her Egg-Sack was and causing it to fall away and reveal a Mana-Pillar and Health-Column.

"Well that's a happy coincidence…" Naruto mumbled to himself before frowning when he noticed that he was running extremely low on Minions at the moment.

"_Sire! I'm opening a Minion and Waypoint Gate at your location! Use them wisely and take that Ant-Queen down!"_ Gnarl's voice suddenly rang out and Naruto mentally grinned while summoning out more browns and sending them for the Mana-Pillar first. _'More magic will definitely help me take this bitch down.'_ The blond thought darkly, then watched the Queen turn towards him with a shrieking sound. Forming a Fireball into his free hand the blond then sent several small bolts at the Queen to get her attention, clearly pissing her off from the shriek of fury she produced. Lightly flipping his rock up and catching it in his hand, Naruto then threw it into the air as the Queen spat out another Acid Bolt.

"Kawarimi-no-Jutsu!" The blond declared, vanishing in a plume of smoke as the rock took the impact of the acid instead. Reappearing above the Queen, Naruto landed on her back and she quickly tried to shake him off, only for the blond to grin as he swung either arm, instantly slicing off her wings. The Queen gave a cry as he did and fell to the ground heavily, her legs spread outwards as Naruto smirked. Sweeping two of his Minions at the queen he had them jump onto her and start stabbing her with their weapons, mentally thanking Kami he still had two with actual weapons left. However, the blond then grabbed onto the Queen's Antenna as she quickly got up and spun in place, throwing the two Minions away.

Just as she did, the four Minions who had been carrying the Mana-Pillar got it to the Waypoint Gate, causing Naruto to shudder, as new energy seemed to fill him. _'Oi, I'm seriously never going to get used to that…'_ The blond thought while quickly sweeping the four Minions back to the Health-Column to collect it as well. Grunting once that was done, Naruto held on for dear life as the Queen thrashed and bucked in an attempt to throw him off of her back. _'I don't think so Queeny, this pest is hanging on!'_ Naruto thought to himself while quickly looking around in order to check on Tora and Grunge.

Currently, Grunge was hanging back under Kara, slicing any of the Ants that managed to get close while the Shadow-Unseelie cast spell after spell in order to destroy as many Ants as she possibly could. "Do these things ever stop?" She had to wonder with a frown and Grunge merely grunted while kicking an Ant back, Kara bringing down a spear of Darkness that pierced its head. Taking a moment to exhale a quick breath, the two looked around, expecting more ants but were pleasantly surprised to find that they had finally stopped coming.

"Looks like we only have the other half and the Queen to deal with now." Grunge stated before he and Kara heard more of Kori's wicked laughter, the Shadow-Unseelie both mentally and physically grimacing when she did.

"No… I think Kori is having more fun than she should…" Kara noted while turning, then palmed her face upon seeing her friend spinning in a ring on the ground, still on fire, before quickly rising up into a flaming pillar / tornado… to put is mildly, it was a hell-storm. "Yeah… she's really having way too much fun with this." Kara noted as Kori's flame-Pillar swirled and spiraled around the ants, Tora running out of the way and over to Tak as the somewhat insane Unseelie girl managed to destroy pillars of rock with her attack. However rather than keep an eye on Kori, who could very clearly take care of herself, the group looked to Naruto as he held onto the Queen's Antenna as she continued to Buck and thrash.

"Well, just one more piece of business to deal with." Grunge noted and Kara nodded her head before spotting the Minions placing the Health-Column they had collected onto the Waypoint-Gate, Naruto glowing as they did so, yet the young Overlord then held up his hand and called on all the Life-Force of the downed Ants into himself as well. When he did, his body continued to glow before giving off a sudden pulse that spread out of Naruto and then out across the world itself. Being so close to the blond, Kara instantly picked up on the pulse of power and swayed in place for a moment. Naruto himself grit his teeth before slamming his head forward into the Queen's, causing her to stumble forward and ram into a wall, yet the young Overlord-In-Training did not fall off.

Instead, scales quickly started to sprout over his hands and fingers before fully covering his forearms, while the scales on his chest also started to spread, now reaching up to his neck and down to his naval. Gritting his teeth, Naruto then growled low in his throat before raising a clawed hand into the air, the blond then swung it down into the Queen at the base of her head. Narrowing his eyes, Naruto then felt around inside of the queen's head for a moment before gripping what he assumed was her brain. Placing a foot at the back of her neck, the young Overlord-In-Training then kicked off of the Queen while ripping her brain out in a shower of gore.

Landing in a crouch while still clutching the Queen's brain, Naruto crushed it in his hand before throwing the remains to the side and brushing off his hands. Silently watching the Queen sway in place for a moment, Naruto crossed his arms over his chest as she then fell down onto her side, numerous spheres of Life Force forming over her when she did. Holding up a hand, the blond called that bit of Life Force into himself as well before turning to the Queen's Egg-Sack and threw a wall of fire at it as well, torching it and producing even more Life Force. However, Naruto then saw the scales growing at his forearms and widened his eyes.

'_Scales!'_ He inwardly demanded while loosening his gauntlet to look at his arm and then ran a finger over his silvery scales. Shaking his head, and hoping that it was just a trick of the dim light in the caves, Naruto then took several calming breaths. _'Yeah, calm down… then boil Gnarl in hot oil if he doesn't come up with an excuse if this is normal for Overlords and he didn't tell me…'_ The Overlord-In-Training thought with a scowl across his face, only to shake his head and exhale an annoyed breath. Looking to the Life Force from The Queen's Egg-Sack, Naruto absorbed that into himself as well, and then walked over to Tak and Tora, who looked shocked.

"_Excellent work Sire! That so called Queen didn't stand a chance against true royalty!"_ Gnarl suddenly declared while Naruto stopped and looked up with a slim frown as he tried to adjust to the over abundant amount of Life Force suddenly being contained within his body. _"Now hurry back Sire, we still have much to do and little time to do it!"_ Gnarl then ordered and Naruto mentally rolled his eyes before turning and waving Kori and Kara over to himself, the two Unseelie quickly perching themselves on his shoulders when he did. Grunge on the other hand walked over calmly, placing his axes at his sides while crossing his arms over his chest.

"So… what now?" Tora then asked and Naruto motioned for her and the others to follow him as he walked towards the Waypoint gate.

"Now we head back to see your father and give him the good news." Naruto replied rather simply while walking into the Waypoint Gate without sparing them another glance. Stepping onto the Gate, Naruto could feel The Overlord-Heart in some way, but mentally pictured the Orc Village and suddenly vanished in a shower of sparks, quickly followed by the rest of his group…

(?)

On a remote Island to the far north of the island nation of Nami-no-Kuni, a glowing green eye opens upon feeling a sudden pulse. A male figure pushed himself up and then moved his feet off of his bed as he rose up to his full height. Their people had come to these lands a long time ago; they were members of a splinter sect of the cult known as the Auchenai in Azeroth. They were Necromancers and Warlocks unlike the rest of their kind, and much like the Auchenai, many of them were of a _**very**_ "dark / evil" alignment.

Of course, like many splinter sects they were different from the original group, admittedly not by much, but it was as clear as their green eyes that they were. And that was because unlike the so-called "Death Priests" they sought out knowledge about The Void. Some Eredar, or rather some Man'ari as was the proper name, also lived among them in search of knowledge on the true nature of The Void. Many of their people had Void-Walkers as their companions for obvious reasons, and they seemed especially pleased with their station among them, given their master's great interest and respect for The Void. However that was not for the here and now, now, now something was amiss, and as he walked out of his home, the old man felt a shudder run through him as a Void-Walker "Void-Lord" appeared in the center of the village looking into the distance.

"Elder! The Void-Walkers are acting strangely!" A female Draenei declared while sliding to a halt before him, her own eyes just as green as his own. That trait was unusual for Draenei; normally blue was the only eye-color a person saw unless they were infected by Fel-Energy. However, it was merely their constant close proximity to their Demonic companions, The Void-Walkers, which caused their eye color to turn Green.

"In what way?" He questioned of the young female and she looked over to the Void-Lord worriedly as it gazed into the distance. Looking around with her, the elder raised a brow seeing more Void-Walkers, Void-Callers, and even Void-Wraiths from their group looking into the distance as well. _'They must sense something… has our search for them finally come to an end?'_ The Draenei Elder wondered to himself before looking back to the young Female.

"They have stopped doing anything and just stare at the horizon." She replied and he slowly nodded his head before walking over to the Void-Lord, the female falling in step behind him.

"Lord, why do you gaze so intently?" The Elder questioned and the Void-Lord didn't bother turning towards him as it replied.

"**Can you not sense it? The Void sings in cheer… The Heir to the Abyss rises, his power grows."** The Void-Lord responded while raising its arms up, the Elder reaching up to stroke one of the tendrils falling from his bearded face.

"I see… so a White-Dragon yet lives?" The Elder questioned hopefully, and the Void-Lord silently nodded his head. A small smile made its way onto the Elder's face as he realized their search for the mythical "White-Dragons" was _**finally**_ coming to an end. In times long since passed they had learned of a Legend of a great race of Silver / White Dragons. The White-Dragons were said to generate and control the very power and nature of the all-consuming Void. When they had learned of this race of Dragons, they had of course decided to seek them out, as they too wished to use the powers of the Void as their own. That had been hundreds of years ago, and now their quest was finally nearing its ultimate end.

"Gather everyone together, a White Dragon lives and we shall leave soon bring this journey to an end." The Elder stated with a hand on the girl's shoulder and she nodded before running off, The Void-Lord's eyes flashing.

"**Do not think much, the Dragon is but a Hatchling. He is not yet aware of the true depths of his powers."** The Void-Lord suddenly intoned while looking to the ancient Draenei whom arched a brow. **"But do not worry, though he is the last of his kind he is not alone… and I believe that it would be wise to trust him and put aside all prejudice for other races. This Overlord seeks to reunite the "Dark Races" of the world against the growing forces of the Light."** The Void-Lord replied while the elder Draenei sneered at the mention of the word "Light". It wasn't much of a secret that the Auchenai hated the light with a blind passion that bordered on the psychotic, and they didn't exactly like the Light much either given they quest to learn more of The Void.

"But what do you mean by "Overlord", and what Dark-Races?" The Draenei questioned and yet the Void-Lord vanished into the shadows, and thus leaving the Elder with more questions than he had answers for…

(Orc-Village…)

Naruto appeared in a shower of Sparks, and felt a momentary disorientation as he walked off of the Waypoint Gate and back into the village to see Gnarl and Gron waiting for them nearby. Looking at his arms, Naruto felt a twitch as he hadn't been seeing things in the caves, and he did have Scales on his forearms. _'Did Gnarl know this was going to start happening to me? And if he did, why didn't he tell me sooner? And, I know I'm a Dragon-Kin and all, but I'm an __**Abyss**__ Dragon… so why the hell are my scales Silver instead of black?'_ Naruto wondered to himself before turning to glare at Gnarl as he and Gron approached the blond youth.

"Sire!" Gron called out before giving a curt bow, making Naruto feel more than a little uncomfortable, as he wasn't used to such respect. "You have the gratitude of my people and myself for aiding us in our time of need." Gron stated and Naruto reached up and lightly scratched the side of his face.

"It's no problem…" Naruto offered while Gron straightened back out and Naruto turned to see his Minions running out of the Waypoint Gate to gather around him.

"Oi, where have you slugs been? There's no Lollygagging in the Overlords armies!" Gnarl declared while glaring at the group of Browns, who tried to look as innocent as they could. Shaking his head, the old Minion-Master then turned to Naruto with a grin on his face. "Sire! You're looking well. I'm happy to see you unharmed." Gnarl noted aloud only for Naruto to grab him by the back of his cloak and lift him up to face him with a deep frown.

"Right… then care to explain what _**this is**_ exactly?" Naruto questioned darkly while showing the visible scales that had formed at his forearms. Seeing the rather angry look in his Master's eyes, Gnarl chuckled nervously for a moment while looking to the side and trying not to sound too fearful.

"Uh, well that's actually a really interesting story… and it's more Doc's duty to explain it too you." Gnarl replied and Naruto brought the old Minion-Master up to face him as his eyes turned a deep blood red… "B-But don't worry sire! I'll have Doc meet up with us at the Naga-Sector of the Underworld!" Gnarl said quickly and Naruto frowned to himself before deciding that was fine and dropping the old Minion Master onto his ass. Landing with grunt, Naruto rubbed at his sore bottom while Tak, Tora, and Grunge walked out of the Waypoint-Gate behind Naruto's Minions.

"Father, the queen is definitely dead! And our people won't have to worry about those ants again any time soon!" Tora declared with a toothy grin on her face and the old Orc rolled his eyes while looking at her.

"So I've heard." He noted before looking at Gnarl and Naruto as the old Minion-Master picked himself back up. "Well Gnarl, while I am grateful to you and the Overlord for what you've done for us, we clearly won't be of much help to your armies until we can get some more crops growing, we'll at least send word to the Naga that your heading their way." Gron offered to the aging Minion-Master and Gnarl nodded his head. "And… I would also like to offer Tora and Grunge's help, since my Daughter wants more adventure in her life, I'm sure she wouldn't mind traveling with The Overlord on his quest." Gron added with a strange look to Gnarl that the old Minion-Master instantly recognized, causing him to grin widely.

"Now wait just a damn minute! Don't I have a say in this?" The said Orcish girl demanded loudly, Tak grimacing and grabbing her ears from the volume, while Grunge shook his head with a frown. However, the Orc then looked at his brother and his frown deepened as he could easily tell what was going on. _'He's planning on Tora being a gift to the Overlord, not surprising, and probably prudent given what I just saw him do to those Ants down there.'_ Grunge mentally decided, though that still didn't mean he had to like it, as he re-crossed his arms over his chest silently.

"No Tora, you don't." Gron replied with a flat tone that brokered no arguments while the Orcish girl huffed and crossed her arms with a scowl. Rolling his eyes for a moment, Gnarl then snickered while grinning up at Gron.

"That is an acceptable offer given the circumstances Gron. But for the moment, I would ask if you would allow us to stay here for the moment and rest. I'm sure that my Master is very tired from his ordeal in the caves, and we'll leave bright and early for the Naga on the morrow." Gnarl questioned, Gron nodding his head as he lead the Old Minion-master away, Naruto grumbling to himself as he followed behind them. _'Gnarl, don't think our talk is over yet… I still want to know why you didn't warn me about this happening…'_ Naruto wondered to himself with annoyance, as he highly doubted many creatures were into the whole scaly look, and he didn't like this kind of surprise…

As the group walked away, none of them saw a pitch black creature with a violet aura appear, jeweled bracers covering its forearms as it watched them go. Slinking into the shadows the creature followed them unseen by any who would alert them of its presence. After all, the Abyss-Dragon needed to be protected from threats in his own kingdom, and what better creature to protect it than The Void-Walkers?

TBC…


	9. Will of The Wild Pt1

**Disclaimer**: I own anything within; this story is merely a way for me to alleviate boredom…

[Kara: And here we are yet again…

Kori: Yes! Is it not most joyous to be returning, Kara?

Kara: Eh, could be worse I guess…

Gnarl: What are you two doing here?

Shin: Well with Tak and the others invading this it's not too surprising their here.

Gnarl: Great… now everyone is going to start invading the opening!

Lord Pain: Gnarl, shut up and start the damn fic!

Gnarl: Uh… yes sire, forgive me…

?: And now our story begins…]

_**NU**_: _**Dark Lord**_ +

_**Chapter 7**_: _**Will of The Wild Pt.1**_…

"Normal Speech"…

'_Normal Thoughts_'…

[Radio/Tower Heart In Use]…

"**Jutsu In Use**"…

"**Demon Speech**"…

'_**Demon Thoughts**_'…

"_**Inner Spirit Speech**_"…

(?…)

Skoodge knelt behind a tree, watching the group of human bandits intently while other Goblins lay in wait around the camp. Watching the humans silently, Skoodge couldn't help a deep frown that crossed his features. _'These guys make Orcs seem like saints, at least they don't kidnap their own women to sell into slavery… though the Drow are pretty bad about doing that.'_ Skoodge noted to himself, as he was one of the more selfless of any Goblin, having all but dedicated his life to the advancement of his oldest friend Zim. Of course that was unlikely to happen, but it didn't mean that Skoodge felt his efforts were wasted, and Zim didn't even need to tell him thanks for what he always did for him… so long as Zim was safe, Skoodge felt his job was done.

"You seem deep in thought, Skoodge." A female Goblin noted from his side and the short male blushed and grinned sheepishly. "Should we not stay focused on the here and now?" She then questioned and Skoodge silently nodded his head while trying not to stare at the female. She was tall, taller than any other Goblin sans Red and Purple, thus tall enough that she had to crouch to meet eye to eye with him… when he stands up; her eyes were a dazzling azure blue, her facial features still resembling her obvious Goblin Heritage, her skin a rather average green for a Goblin, her midnight black hair was pulled into a ponytail, and her nails were sharp, black, and kept trim enough to use as weapons.

She wears a sleeveless blue cloth robe with a white snowflake pattern, she wears a metal headdress with mock-antenna curling back off of her head and weaving into her hair with a blue gem at the center of her forehead, a black / white striped Waist-Cincher that had three pouches strapped to it, black combat boots with steel toes, a chest plate / pauldrons of blue leather armor with black shoulder straps, her "PAK" is located on her back with the black Leather straps of her chest armor / pauldrons curving around it, and bandages over her hands which clutched a green and obsidian Glass staff.

Shaking his head when he realized that he was staring at her, Skoodge cleared his throat lightly before turning to look at the camp again. Considering her question, Skoodge then started to tap his chin with a look across his face. "Not sure…" Skoodge admitted while watching the brutish bandits laugh around a pot of bubbling soup. Attempting to cook something, though clearly under coercion, was a young looking brown haired girl in white with a bandanna holding her hair back. The brutes didn't seem to want to leave their hands to themselves either, the poor girl clearly greatly distressed, causing a frown to slip across the female Goblin's visage as magic pulsed from her staff.

"Uhh… Miyuki?" Skoodge questioned warily upon seeing the glow in her blue eyes increase to where her pupil vanished. Blinking her eyes for a moment, the female Goblin then frowned while looking expectantly to Skoodge.

"Do you have any ideas for taking them all down, preferably very quickly?" Miyuki questioned of the short Goblin with a deep frown on her face and Skoodge chuckled nervously. The problem was, Skoodge wasn't a leader, no matter how high his rank was, he just couldn't lead, he was a follower at heart, probably why he always stood by Zim no matter what happened.

"Not really…" Skoodge admitted and the female sighed before rubbing her chin with a thoughtful frown, and then narrowed her eyes.

"Is Tenn with us?" Miyuki questioned of Skoodge and he blinked before nodding his head, the skittish Female having had to lead them to the Bandit camp. "Then go get her, I have an idea." Miyuki ordered and Skoodge gave a salute before shuffling off as Miyuki turned and leaned back into the tree. Reaching into her pouches, she then removed a couple of potions and sniffed at them before nodding her head. Quickly mixing a few of them, she then muttered a spell and raised her hand from the vial of mixed fluids, a cloud of blue smoke rising out of it. Waving the smoke away, Miyuki smirked to herself as she waited for Skoodge to return with Tenn.

Hearing the two as they approached, the female looked to the shorter Goblins as they stopped before her. "Y-You W-Wanted to s-see me, Her-Tallest?" Tenn questioned of her and Miyuki silently nodded her head before handing her the vial of blue fluid.

"Yes, I need you to sneak this potion into that soup…" Miyuki ordered and Tenn nodded her head while taking the vial, then hopped onto the tree and started to climb up it into the branches above. Smirking to herself, Miyuki then looked down when Skoodge pulled on her robes for a moment.

"Um… if you don't mind me asking, Her-Tallness, but what will that do?" Skoodge questioned unsurely and Miyuki rolled her eyes before leaning back and listening to the sounds of the trees. _'If you listen to it closely… it actually sounds like the ocean waves.'_ She noted to herself calmly, having always been something of a romantic at heart, Miyuki tended to look for beauty in even the simplest of places. She'd done so even in the Underworld, likening the small holes in the ceiling of their home to the stars in the sky in the outside world. However, realizing she was being rude by forgetting about Skoodge, the tall female opened her eyes and looking back to the short male.

"It's a sleep drought, when even the smallest bit is ingested, they'll start to get drowsy before falling totally to sleep. When they do, we go in, kill them all, save the girls, take the treasure and go home." Miyuki replied with a shrug, as just like how she was a romantic, she also detested violence, preferring to deal with people like these bandits quickly and efficiently with little to no chance of retaliation. It was simple, it was efficient, and it was especially frightening how she could come up with certain strategies like that without much thought. She wasn't known among Goblins as Miyuki The Wise or Her-Tallness for nothing after all, she'd earned those names time and time again.

"Wow… this'll be easy then!" Skoodge noted excitedly and Miyuki nodded her head with a frown, expecting something to go wrong. While she was both a romantic, and something of a pacifist, she was also a realist, believing that above all else, one should never underestimate their opponent. _'This should work, however that drought wasn't made for Ogres, if their leader really is a hybrid, then he might be able to resist it.'_ The Blue-Eyed Goblin thought to herself with a frown, then turned to watch the Bandits with narrowed blue eyes…

Meanwhile, Tenn stealthily moved through the branches of the trees, biting her lip and trying desperately not to start shaking and fall. Looking down, she hoped she was close enough and reached for the bottle Miyuki gave to her. Taking it she then reached up to pull down her mask before she bit down on the cork and yanked it open. Holding the cork between her teeth, Tenn then looked down to the boiling pot below and considered her options. She could try and pour it in, but from her height they might notice a stream of the fluid so that wasn't really a good idea. And as she continued to think, she realized her only real option was to just drop it in then make a beeline out of there. Taking several calming breaths, Tenn then held out the bottle before letting it drop from her fingers.

Bolting when she did, the speedy Goblin Girl launched herself into the tree branches nearby and spat out the cork before looking down. It seemed as if none of them had noticed the bottle hit, for which she was thankful, and even the servant girl being forced to cook for the lecherous bandits seemed a little preoccupied, while their oaf of a leader slept soundly. Watching on silently, Tenn wondered what Miyuki had concocted, the Goblin Woman was known for quick thinking, so Tenn originally suspected a Poison. But such a thing wouldn't be tasteless and would give off a smell that the men would notice, putting the serving girl in danger.

And, while Tenn herself could care less about such things, Miyuki was a kind and somewhat gentle soul. Her name even had several meanings in the current Human Language, but, they had decided that her name ultimately mean "Deep Snow". Miyuki was beautiful; by Goblin Standards she was a rare beauty that could quite easily pass as a Half-Breed. She was also considered beautiful to look at, but she could be cold and even deadly if you weren't careful. The instances of such a thing coming to pass were rare, but they were well known to all Goblin's in the Underworld, you do not mess with Miyuki, or like her namesake, you would find yourself buried under a sheet of ice, literally… one poor fool learned that after attempting to take Miyuki, they found him frozen in a block of black ice a week later, a silent scream etched into his face…

Shaking her head of the "Chilling" thoughts of what the "Tallest" could do with just a smidge of her magic, Tenn went back to watching the bandits below. They were still grabbing at the poor servant girl who kept yelping and blushing as they did, though in Tenn's opinion, they were a lot gentler than most Goblins got when they were getting grabby. _'Th-Then again, when a male Goblin is Gr-grabby, he k-kidnaps you.'_ Tenn mentally reminded herself with a shiver while the men laughed and hooted to themselves before the girl _**finally**_ started to serve them their gruel. Watching on with scrutiny, Tenn saw the girl pass out several bowls out to the men, already filled with the piping hot liquid while Tenn tried not to listen to whatever plans the men had for afterwards.

However, one by one they ate their meals, and one by one they started to look sleepy, and then ultimately, they all started to yawn as they fell to sleep. Soon, not a single soul was left awake and so Tenn lunged down as the Goblins came out of hiding and ran forward at the Bandits. Tenn quickly knocked the confused servant girl to the ground and covered her mouth while shushing her as the males started their work, which was simple since all they had to do was start killing off random sleeping bandits.

Meanwhile, Skoodge ran forward and jumped into a swing, bringing both of his axes down into a sleeping Bandit. Looking around as the others started killing them all off, Skoodge wondered if this was right. Sure, they were winning with no casualties, but they had to basically drug the bandits to do so. However, as he thought about it, he realized that it didn't matter much, and that no one would care how they had won their first real victory against the humans, only that they actually _**won**_. And so Skoodge walked over to the cage where the human girls were soundly sleeping and decided to see about moving them.

Looking over the cart, Skoodge frowned when he saw that the horses were tied to the side and they would need to hook them up to it. _'That's kind of irritating, but I guess it could be worse.'_ Skoodge noted as Goblins weren't known to be very good with animals, and most of them panicked at the mere sight of them. Clicking his tongue for a moment, Skoodge then looked up and blinked when he came face to face with a now wide-awake girl. She looked at him for a long few moments before her eyes widened and he mentally cursed as she screamed loudly… something told Skoodge that this wouldn't end well at all…

And unfortunately for the tubby Goblin, he was very correct, as the leader of the group blinked his sleepy eyes open to see them killing his men. Miyuki was the first to notice, and she quickly issued an order in Goblin, the males moving out of the way and dragging the serving girl away as the enormous man swung an even larger Hammer. The man was enormous, larger than even Miyuki with four times the girth, his head being bald with beady eyes and a tooth sticking up over his upper lip, his muscles bulging out to inhuman levels, dressed in old brown pants, black studded wrist bands, a black belt, a nose ring, a small black vest, and old leather boots.

"Tiny-Tings wake Goro." The lumbering brute noted while rubbing at his eyes sleepily, then lifting his massive Hammer up along his shoulders while rising to his feet, the ground shuddering as he did so. Narrowing his eyes, "Goro" then grit his teeth while glaring at Miyuki furiously. "Goro smash tiny tings!" He declared loudly while lunging forward and then stepping into a spin with his massive hammer. Swinging the hammer over his head and bringing it down on Miyuki, Goro then blinked when she managed to evade him with ease. Growling darkly, Goro lunged at Miyuki and swung his hammer once more, the Shaman jumping over his swing and spinning her staff to slam it into the side of his head.

However, Miyuki then widened her eyes seeing the attack do little to no damage to the massive thug. Roaring out, Goro twisted on his heel, dragging his hammer into a spin that Miyuki barely evaded. Landing on her feet and sliding back into a crouch, Miyuki narrowed her eyes before looking around to see the other Goblins in position around her and Goro. _'I have to get that Hammer away from this brute or he'll tear the others apart.'_ The tall female thought to herself before frowning as Goro came at her once more and she breathed out a cool vapor. Twirling her staff over her head, the female lunged forward and slid under Goro, then flipped up into a kick to Goro's back.

The lummox grunted as he fell face forward and landed, a small tremor shaking Miyuki when he hit. "Goro fall down!" The lummox declared and Miyuki giggled with a hand over her mouth, amusement clear in her azure eyes. _'Oh my, he's not quite right in the head is he?'_ Miyuki noted to herself while Goro managed to push himself back up and turned to her with a snarl. "Pretty Green ting hurt Goro! Goro smash pretty green ting!" The lummox declared loudly and Miyuki briefly wondered if she should count being called "Pretty" by him a compliment or not considering just how stupid the man clearly was from his speech and mannerisms. Shaking those thoughts away, Miyuki then narrowed her eyes and jumped over another swing from Goro's hammer before forming a bit of magic into one hand.

"Freeze." She uttered coldly, icy vapor flowing from her lips as she sent a ball of cold ice at Goro's hammer, the weapon instantly freezing over. Yelping, Goro released his weapon, hands burned from the cold as the hammer shattered upon the ground. Roaring out, Goro lunged at the Goblin girl who merely spun her staff and breathed out more vapor, glowing blue symbols forming over the majority of her body as she glared at the man coldly. Grinning boldly the mammoth of a man brought both hands down at Miyuki, only for her to raise her own and form a dome of ice around herself, Goro blinking when she did.

Letting out a breath, Miyuki then pushed the dome outwards, sending dozens of ice shards flying out to cut into Goro. Screaming in pain, Goro was flung back while Miyuki frowned and walked forward with a cold look across her face. The glowing runes on her skin seemed to flare brilliantly as she then brought the end of her staff down into the ground, causing snowflakes to stir into the air and swirl around her form. "For your future I see no more time remains, but before we reach the end of this game, this one last message with you I will send…" Miyuki started before holding a hand forward and allowing a chilling magic to flow off of her hand. Throwing a punch at the Goblin Girl, Goro didn't get far as the magic touched his skin… and his body began to freeze over.

"I am the Ice maiden, and here you shall meet your end." Miyuki stated coldly as the ice rose over Goro's entire form, freezing him like a statue of ice. Looking at the sight coldly, Miyuki twirled her staff before slamming it into the stature, shattering Goro into dozens of fleshy pieces of icy crystals that now littered the ground. Breathing out a vapory mist, the Goblin Girl then looked to the now fearful Goblins and sighed. "Bring the women, we must return home. I'm tired." Miyuki declared while placing her staff onto her back, the Goblins all too happy to obey the Tallest as they got to work. Walking off silently as the glowing symbols and runes vanished from her skin, Miyuki then wandered back into the snow-covered forest…

(Underworld…)

Grunge walked through the Orc settlement at Gron's side with a deep frown on his face. The village was quiet and the visible stars through the ceiling barely visible from their spot underground. However, a different thought was plaguing Grunge's mind as he then looked over to Gron. "Tora's going to be furious when she finds out what your up too." Grunge stated while looking to his brother and Gron grunted while crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm doing what's best for her and the village." Gron stated and Grunge scoffed while shaking his head with a deep frown. He knew his brother often meant well, but he also realized that his brother had many flaws, not the least of which was how he got when he felt something needed to be done. Once Gron got something in his head that he felt needed to be done, by hell or high water, it would be done.

"How is taking her choices away from her good?" Grunge questioned sternly, he never raised his voice unless he needed too, and even though he was very annoyed, that wouldn't make him change his ways just yet.

"I'm trying to give her a better future!" Gron growled out darkly and Grunge gave his brother a look while crossing his arms over his chest. "What would you do then? She's a loose cannon, she's got an appetite for war and battle, and I'm sure she partially gets it from the Drow side of her heritage!" Gron shouted at his brother who silently shook his head while looking up to the sky through one of the holes in the ceiling.

"She's not her mother, she won't try and kill you in her sleep." Grunge reminded and Gron grunted while lightly tracing the scar that ran the length of his face from his forehead down his chest. Letting out a breath, the orc then reached up and rubbed his head with a tired look on his face.

"I know…" Gron replied and Grunge watched him silently. "Do you remember when father brought her mother home with him?" Gron suddenly questioned with a slight grin and Grunge snorted with an amused look on his face.

"How could I forget, you were blushing up a storm and sputtering out nonsense around her for months." Grunge replied with amusement and Gron chuckled lightly as he remembered the past.

"Things were simpler back then, I really miss it." Gron noted and Grunge walked to his brother and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Things are always simpler for children Brother, 'cause our parents protect us from the trouble." Grunge reminded his brother and Gron silently nodded his head while looking to the hole where the Mammoth-Ant colony had once been. "But, I still wanna' know why you're sending Tora as little more than a gift to the Overlord?" Grunge continued and Gron reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose before his yellow eyes suddenly hardened.

"We've been getting some information from the Naga, seems the Drow and Dryder have been up to something. And what's worse is that Vampires are being spotted leaving the Under-City." Gron stated and Grunge narrowed his eyes and frowned heavily at that tidbit of information.

"Vampires… wonderful, the one Dark-Race that kills everything and joins no one but other Undead." The large Orc noted mostly to himself while rubbing his chin and Gron nodded his head with a frown on his face as well. "But what does that have to do with sending Tora to the Overlord?" Grunge questioned of his brother, though could see how things were going to get rather nasty soon enough.

"We've got reason to believe that The Vampires have formed an alliance with The Drow." Gron stated and Grunge scowled deeply, that was highly irregular for Vampires, they hated every other race but themselves after all. "It also turns out the Goblin's leaders Red and Purple were in contact with The Drow, a Naga intercepted one of their letters and alerted us of it recently." Gron continued and Grunge frowned as he saw where this was going. "And that they might've been the ones to put that Mammoth-Ant colony down there in the first place." Gron finished and Grunge's scowl turned into a half snarl as he clenched his fists tightly.

"So then, the Vamp's are makin' a major power play." Grunge noted more to himself while Gron nodded his head with a frown on his face. "That don't bode well for the rest of us. And even less for The Drow, soon as we're all gone, they're food for those freaks." Grunge continued to note to himself and Gron nodded once more while leaning into a railing nearby.

"We believe so, but you've noticed how The Drow come by for human slaves every few weeks lately?" Gron questioned of his brother and Grunge blinked for a moment before he realized what his brother was implying. "I can tell from your face you see what I mean… they're feeding those slaves to The Vampires." Gron stated and a deep frown crossed Grunge's face at that bit of news. He had no problem with slavery, it was a cost effective way to trade in the Underworld, but when you turned people, even slaves, into little more than cattle… that was just sick!

"So… you're sending Tora with de' Overlord, to keep her safe cause a his power. Vamp or not, you don't fuck with a Dragon without getting' burned…" Grunge reckoned and Gron nodded his head before looking back to the ceiling with a frown.

"Not only that, but I need you two to keep him safe as much as he will keep you safe. If the Overlord succeeds in uniting the Dark Races, we can rise up and take down the Vampires before they become a real problem to us. The Old one, Gnarl, agrees with my idea." Gron added and Grunge blinked before narrowing his eyes onto his brother as he fully realized what had happened.

"That ol' shit conned you into making Tora one a da' Overlord's brides didn't he." Grunge mused and Gron reached up to rub at his shoulder uncomfortably, an old nervous habit he had never quite managed to kick. Shaking his head, Grunge then had another thought and looked to his brother with obvious confusion on his face. "But what about The Vampire King, ol' Fang-Face was a bit of an ass, but he'd never try an' pull dis shit." Grunge noted and his brother nodded his head once more while looking around then pulling his brother close.

"We've learned from a Drow-Spy that the Vampire-King was slain by his former bride and consort, an ambitious Red-Head we both met at their "Black Wedding", the one who now calls herself The Vampire Queen…" Gron started only for Grunge to scowl as he finished for his brother.

"Madelyne Pryor…"

(The Next morning…)

Naruto, Tora, Gnarl, Tak, Grunge, and the Minions stood at the entrance to the tunnel leading to the Naga caverns. Before them stands Gron, a concealed object held in his hands. "Are you certain that you require nothing else for your journey?" The Orc Leader questioned of the group, Naruto shaking his head in response.

"We should be… ack… we should be fine…" Naruto replied with a grunt while reaching up to rub at his throat. It had been tickling all morning, and his throat seemed to constrict at times as well, making him wonder if he'd been poisoned. Gnarl assured him however that there was nothing wrong with him, however this made Naruto wonder what was happening to him this time, and if it had to do with his Partial-Dragon-Heritage.

"I see. In any case, I wish to present this to you milord." Gron then stated while removing the cloth from the object in his hands, Gnarl giving an Oooh as he saw what looked a portion of a skull with leather straps. The straps were clearly made to fit around a persons head, and the bone of the mask was made out of the upper jaw with sharp teeth coming down from it, the nose piece of the skull visible.

"A new mask?" Naruto asked gruffly, then glared at Gnarl who grinned while walking over to Gron and took the object.

"I love it! You'll look positively malevolent with this on Sire!" Gnarl noted while looking at the bone mask and then held it to Naruto, the blond grunting as he snatched it from his Minion-Master.

"What's wrong with his voice?" Gron questioned while Naruto muttered to himself as he slipped the mask on over his leather one.

"He's just going through puberty…" Gnarl offered with a shrug, and that wasn't a lie, only that for a Dragon, Puberty was the time when young Dragon's developed their "Breath-Weapon" as well as their more durable scales, claws, horns, and other such features, as they were somewhat "Cute" in their younger form, and become a tremendous amount more fearsome in their "teenaged" and adult forms. Raising a brow at that, Gron looked to see Naruto pull the mask on fully, the long fangs coming off of it ending below his lower jaw and showing enough room for him to grow into it.

"I see…" Gron noted and then looked to Tora, his daughter fixing him with something akin to an Evil Eye. "Don't look at me like that Tora…" Gron pleaded and the Orc girl huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, the old Orc grunting as he rubbed his head tiredly. Looking back to Gnarl and Naruto the large orc gave a curt bow and an uneasy grin to them. "I hope when we meet again it's under better circumstances milord. But until then, please take care of Tora." Gron pleaded, getting a growl from his daughter while Naruto silently gave a thumbs up since his throat was still pretty sore. Turning on his heel the blond then walked away while idly rubbing at his throat, his followers close behind while Gron clicked his tongue and walked back to his home.

Meanwhile, Naruto was rubbing his throat again and glaring with annoyance at an amused looking Gnarl. _'Ahh, it's been so long since our Overlord was silent like his ancestors…'_ Gnarl mused with an inner chuckle while Naruto just continued to glare at him with annoyance. "Oh don't worry master, you really are just going through puberty, it'll clear up soon enough… I think." Gnarl stated with a wave of a claw, then stopped to ponder how long it'd take for his Dragon-Blood to finish what it was doing.

"Wait, he was just fine yesterday, why is it happening now?" Tora questioned and Gnarl blinked before letting out an annoyed breath.

"Honestly, I've never had to deal with this situation before so I don't really know. Atypically Overlords were raised as children by their parents; afterwards they would join us with a single exception to that rule. The Overlord of Nordberg for instance was mutated by some toxic slime, which forced his dragonic nature to develop faster than it should have so we didn't have to worry about it with him either…" Gnarl admitted with a slight shrug of his shoulders as they continued to walk down the tunnel.

"Then why the bloody hell aren't we taking my Thrasher? It'd be faster that way…" Tak noted and Naruto twitched before shooting her a rather scathing look and Gnarl let out a sigh. In all honesty the Minion-Master wished they could, but besides their number being too great to ride in it, Naruto also didn't want to ride in the "Screaming Metal Deathtrap" ever again.

"Because one, there are too many of us to ride in a Thrasher Comfortably. And two, the Master doesn't like riding in it anyways…" Gnarl replied with a pout and Naruto nodded his head silently, Tora snickering to herself at that tidbit.

"Oi! The more you people talk about blondie, the more I wonder how he can be The Overlord!" Tora noted with a snicker and Naruto inwardly muttered about getting her back for the comment, while Gnarl scowled towards the Orc girl.

"I'd watch my tongue if I were you girl…" Gnarl warned darkly and Tora blinked and then shivered as the aged Minion Master shuffled ahead of them with Naruto at his side. Frowning deeply, Tora then leaned over to her uncle while staring at the backs of both Naruto and Gnarl.

"Is it just me, or is that little trog act more like he's The Overlord than the actual Overlord does?" Tora questioned of her uncle and he'd admit that was true, Gnarl did do more of the ruling than Naruto did, as the blond seemed more like muscle. However, Grunge figured it was more because Gnarl was able to rule while Naruto was a bit too young for such a role, so choose not to comment on it at all. As that was happening Tak walked up to stand between Gnarl and Naruto and looked to the Grey with a frown.

"So Gnarl, how long do you think it'll take us to reach the Naga?" Tak questioned and Gnarl hummed lightly while stroking at his chin for a moment.

"It shouldn't be too long, I contacted Shin before we left and gave him orders to head there with a few thrashers. He's bringing The Overlord-Heart with him and once he's settled I'll just generate a Waypoint Gate for us and we can get there in a snap." Gnarl replied with a snap of his fingers, Tak frowning at that tidbit before glaring at the Minion-Master in annoyance.

"Then do you mind telling me why we're walking out of the safety of the Orc caverns then?" Tak questioned with a deep frown on her face and Gnarl mentally rolled his eyes while yawning lightly.

"Because we don't want you lot to get lazy, just cause we can use Waypoint Gates doesn't mean we should. Besides, it takes a lot of concentration to open and close them, I really don't want to have to set up more than I need too and I'd rather set one up out here where I'll be able to close it relatively easily without anyone complaining." Gnarl replied while Naruto ignored him and the others while he then looked around the tunnel. He noticed that it was rising upwards at a slight incline, and that there were holes in the roof like what had been in the Goblin and Orc caves. _'Speaking of, why do they have those holes up there?'_ Naruto wondered to himself while scratching his head, wincing as his claws scraped at his head.

"The holes are for light sire, Orcs use them as a source of sunlight so that they can grow their crops, Goblins also use them as vents as their machines produce quite a bit of pollution and they don't want to kill themselves." Gnarl explained suddenly and Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin before looking at his Minion-Master. Gnarl had an amused look on his face, while the Minions were giggling like maniacs. "Sire, did you forget I have a mental link with you and can hear your thoughts?" Gnarl questioned of the blond with amusement and Naruto rubbed his head and nodded silently.

'_Honestly Gnarl, I did.'_ Naruto replied mentally and the old Minion Master shrugged his shoulders as they continued through the caves, soon walking into a snow-covered section. Frowning as he remembered Tora's attire, or lack there of, Naruto turned to see the girl shiver and rub her arms but then shake her head with a huff. _'Isn't Tora cold? I mean, that bikini / loincloth outfit of hers can't be made for such a cold climate.'_ Naruto noted inwardly while turning to look at his Minion-Master, the elderly grey rubbing his chin for a moment before answering.

"She's an Orc sire, half breed or not, they are better able to endure harsher climates than a simple human. You should be fine as well with your scales developing as they are." Gnarl replied and Naruto blinked before frowning, as he hadn't felt much of a change in temperature since growing his scales.

'_Still… is she going to be all right without more substantial clothing? And Tak as well, she doesn't have any pants on, just that loincloth.'_ Naruto questioned of Gnarl and the old Minion-Master frowned in thought for a moment before nodding his head.

"Oh they'll be fine sire, we won't be straying into the cold for too long, just until we reach the other side of this tunnel." Gnarl replied with a wave as the tunnel rose higher to the point where Naruto could see a forest outside of it. Blinking to himself, the blond haired Overlord-In-Training looked around for a moment and then frowned deeply.

'_Oh… but Gnarl, isn't it dangerous for the Underworld to have all these openings and entrances? Doesn't that make it easier for Hum… I mean the people up top to find you all down here?'_ Naruto questioned inwardly while looking around, unwilling to use a simple "Humans" for what was his own people for the longest time. Gnarl noticed the near slip and mentally grinned as he felt his master was starting to further himself from his humanity, at least subconsciously…

"They do, but as we've said before sire, the denizens of the Underworld will capture any human who comes to investigate down here. In fact, that's the easiest way that we've found to capture humans." Gnarl Replied and Naruto mentally frowned for a moment, he was sort of human after all, Dragon's blood or not, he still had a connection to the human race. However any other thoughts were cut short when Naruto heard a scream echo from outside of the tunnels.

'_That scream…I think someone's in trouble up there. I'm going to go check it out.'_ Naruto thought while walking ahead of the rest of the group and a sudden frowned crossed Gnarl's lips while looking to his master.

"Master, you can't just go investigating every scream you hear… it'd be very counter productive, and we need to stay together." Gnarl reminded yet Naruto came to a low-section of the cave and hopped up onto solid ground above. Waving a hand to the side, Naruto called on his minions, the browns rushing over to him before climbing up and out of the caves to stand at his side.

'_I'll be fine Gnarl, I'm was given some basic survival and combat training in the Shinobi Academy. Not to mention all the training you gave me. And besides I'll still have Kori, Kara, and all the minions with me.'_ Naruto commented inwardly while turning and running off, Gnarl grunting as he palmed his face tiredly.

"Great, we just had to get a master who feels he has to save every damn fool he can…" Gnarl grunted out while shaking his head, noting that The Betrayer had been very similar when he'd been Overlord. _'Perhaps those two are more similar than merely that.'_ Gnarl thought to himself while clicking his tongue, and then looked up as Tora walked to his side with a frown.

"Shouldn't we head after him? It's bound to be dangerous up there." Tora noted and Gnarl shook his head while crossing his arms over his chest.

"No, let the master have his fun, I'll keep tabs on him and we can continue towards the Naga Caverns." Gnarl stated while shuffling back down into the caves, the rest of the group casting a look outside before following behind the aged Minion-Master.

Meanwhile, up above, Naruto walked through the forest and closed his eyes before deeply inhaling the fresh air. _'Ahh… it's been a while since I've had a breath of fresh air, no offense to the others, but I don't think I like living in caves.'_ The blond haired youth thought to himself before blinking his eyes open again at a sudden flare from his shoulder. Looking to where his familiars chose to rest, Naruto then raised a brow as Kori suddenly flew out of his hood and into the air before doing a twirl. The Unseelie queen then inhaled a breath before letting out a sigh, a small smile on her face.

"Oh my… Kori has never felt like this before… Master, are we truly outside?" Kori questioned hurriedly while looking to the blond haired Overlord-In-Training. Said youth blinked for a moment before slowly nodding his head as Kori suddenly flew upwards. "Oh this is most glorious!" She declared loudly and then reached back and removed her hair-band, allowing her long and vibrant naturally blood red hair to flow outwards. Running her hands through her hair to brush it back, the Unseelie queen then held her arms outwards as if inviting the chilling air to herself.

"Kori… you like the cold?" Naruto questioned with a raised brow and the tiny Unseelie nodded her head with a happy sigh.

"For my people, heat is very unbearable due to our own naturally high body-temperature. Only one of us could keep a human completely warm for a week or more if very close to them. For us the cold is pleasing, for us it is like…" Kori started to explain and then scrunched up her face as she tried to think of something to compare it too. Pouting cutely, which Naruto smiled at, as the unseelie Queen was unnaturally cute for some reason, Kori then started to drum her fingers on her arm. Chuckling lightly at the admittedly adorable look on her face, Naruto shook his head and walked over to the Tiny-Unseelie Queen as she continued to hover in place.

"Don't think too hard about it, Kori… I don't want you hurting yourself." Naruto noted playfully, then gripped at his throat upon feeling a stinging pain. Kori blinked at hearing this before shaking her head and flying over to him. Placing her hands on her hips, the tiny-Unseelie-Queen gave him an annoyed look.

"Kori is not stupid! Kori is just having the trouble thinking of a way to explain!" Kori insisted and Naruto held up his hands placatingly, however he then gripped his throat once more as it still burned for some reason. Blinking, Kori noticed the problem and let out a breath while crossing her arms over her chest. "For us, it is simple a most wondrous feeling… but perhaps it has to do with where we Flame-Unseelie originated, yes?" Kori noted to herself and Naruto raised a brow while looking to her, wishing he could convey his curiosity to the unseelie queen. "Oh, do you wish to know the tale?" Kori suddenly asked while looking to the blond, Naruto blinking before nodding his head and his familiar hummed lightly while crossing her legs under herself.

"Kori would rather not talk about, Master." The tiny faerie noted while flying over to him and then sitting on his shoulder with a strange look. "But for my people the day of birth is not to be celebrated, for us it is a time of great mourning." Kori then started with a sigh as she brought her knees up and rested her cheek against her knees with a strange look on her face. _'Wha… they don't celebrate but mourn? Why is that? What would they have to mourn when one of them has just been born?'_ The blond haired Overlord-In-Training wondered to himself, then wondered if it was actually as bad as Kori made it sound.

Shaking his head of that, Naruto slowed and knelt down as he saw that they were approaching something. Moving behind a tree, the young blond narrowed his eyes upon seeing a carriage, a man standing with a frown, dressed in expensive looking red robes, while a woman was tending to a teenage who was unconscious in her arms. Looking around further, the blond saw that there were arrows all around as well as what looked like a few bodies. _'Hmm, from the looks of things, they were attacked by bandits.'_ Naruto decided before pushing himself up and setting a guard marker to hold the minions.

Looking to Kori, the blond watched her pout as she then shot back into his hood to hide as he walked over to the people. As he approached the man raised a brow, and Naruto could admit he probably looked strange to them. "And just what is a child doing out here, and dressed like that?" The man questioned while Naruto mentally rolled his eyes before reaching up to rub his throat. _'I really have to find out what is up with my throat.'_ Naruto mentally decided before letting out a breath, then looked to the woman who was holding the unconscious young man.

"I heard a scream and came to investigate." Naruto replied with a gruff tone while leaving why he was dressed as he was out of the question and the man reached up to rub at his long goatee.

"I see, but did it ever occur to you that you could be in danger boy?" The man retorted and Naruto rolled his eyes before forming a fireball into his hand and lightly throwing it up and down, the man's eyes instantly snapping to it.

"I can take care of myself." Naruto stated simply and yet the man stroked his goatee for a moment before looking to the side.

"Intriguing…" He mumbled to himself and then turned around with his arms folded behind his back and a stern look. "But it seems that my impetuous young daughter Azula has decided to pursue our attackers… Would it be too much trouble to ask you to fetch her for me?" The man questioned of Naruto with a passive tone, causing the blond haired youth to raise a brow before frowning.

"Wait, fetch her?" Naruto questioned and an amused smirk crossed the man's lips as he also formed a fireball into one of his free hands. Naruto's own eyes bolted open at that and watched as the man turned to him with a smirk. _'Whoa, I didn't think anyone could use Magic in the elemental Nations… unless that's not Magic.'_ Naruto thought to himself while wondering if the fireball was truly magic or some form of Jutsu.

"Yes fetch her, our attackers were quite unlucky… I may be the son of the Fire-Daimyo, but I am still perfectly capable of defending myself, as are my children. Our Bloodline is also one of the more feared in the elemental nations, even those of the Sharingan cannot copy our abilities." The man stated before sneering as he looked to his son who still lay unconscious in, whom he assumed was, his mother's arms. "Well, my daughter can at least. Had it not been for those wolves my young foolish son might've been killed." He said darkly and Naruto frowned at the acid in the man's tone as he glared at his son. _'This guy doesn't seem to care much for his family, or maybe just his son.'_ The blond haired youth mentally noted before crossing his arms over his chest.

"You mentioned Wolves?" Naruto noted quikcly and the man nodded his head with a deep frown on his face.

"Yes, they were lead by a Tamer of sorts, a young man in a cloak with strange powers. The Bandits ran screaming about the "Spirit of the Forest" or some such nonsense." The man in red noted to himself while Naruto frowned in thought. _'A boy with strange powers… I wonder…'_ Naruto thought to himself before tapping his chin with a thoughtful expression under his mask. _**"This bargain works to our advantage…"**_ The voice of Garandou suddenly echoed in the back of his mind as he listened to it silently. _**"By saving the son of the Fire-Lord we also gain his favor and perhaps even a future alliance. Saving his daughter is morally and politically just, it will serve us well in the future of our conquest of the Elemental Nations."**_ The voice of his most dominant trait echoed before seeming to fade out as Naruto released a breath and narrowed his eyes.

"Fine, I'll find her for you." Naruto decided both inwardly and outwardly while turning on his heel, the man however clicked his tongue and walked towards him.

"I didn't get your name." The man noted aloud and Naruto turned to look at him from the corner of his eye. The man instantly noted the glowing blue spheres of light visible beyond the darkness of his hood. _'Hmm… perhaps a trait of a Kekkei-Genkai, such a thing is not unheard of.'_ He noted to himself while Naruto crossed his arms over his chest with a frown beneath his mask.

"Nor did I get yours sir." Naruto replied with a flat look on his face and saw a slight smirk cross the man's face. _'Clearly he's unaware of tact, perhaps he's but a commoner… but how does he have our power to conjure flames then?'_ The man wondered to himself while looking at the blond and then gave a slight incline of his head.

"My name is Prince Ozai, Son of the Daimyo of Hi-no-Kuni, Azulon." The man replied and Naruto narrowed his eyes before turning to face the prince.

"My name is inconsequential, but I am known simply as The Overlord." The blond stated while Ozai raised a brow and rubbed his goatee once more. _'Overlord eh, I haven't heard of such a Title before, I should look for information about it when this is over.'_ The man mused inwardly before looking to Naruto with an amused expression across his face.

"Quite the impressive title, do you think you'll live up to it?" Ozai questioned of the blond haired youth, Naruto grunting as he gave him an annoyed glare.

"I think I'll do just fine, my advisor helps teach me what I'll need to rule." The blond offered and the man slowly nodded his head. _'Rule? So an Overlord is some form of Daimyo then, that could work to my advantage.'_ Ozai mentally decided before humming as he gazed at the blond haired youth.

"I see, but tell me, where exactly do you hail from? I've met all the Daimyo, in fact I had only just finished speaking with the Daimyo of Mizi-no-Kuni when this little incident occurred." Ozai noted more to himself as he wondered if the Water-Daimyo had had a hand in this little incident or not. _'Someone wanted me, and most likely the rest of my family, dead for a reason. I had best find out whom it was and why they wanted me dead, before they make a better planned assault on my life.'_ Ozai noted more to himself than anyone else while Naruto crossed his arms once more.

"The lands from which I hail are of no concern, suffice it to say we've remained well hidden from the rest of these warring nations." Naruto replied while Ozai hummed lightly while stroking his Goatee. _'An entire "Hidden Nation" eh, I believe that could also work to my advantage in the future as well…'_ Ozai thought to himself before another thought occurred to him and he clicked his tongue.

"Then do you have no guards in your nation? Surely a Daimyo as young as yourself should be protected." Ozai noted more to himself than anyone and Naruto let out a low growl as he glared at the man.

"I am perfectly capable of defending myself! I don't need a babysitter, nor do I want one." Naruto replied and a smirk crossed Ozai's features once more as he gazed at the blond haired youth. _'Such fire, yes, he is a worthy ally, and perhaps I can aide him in his own endeavors, after all, my son is worthless and weak, he'd make for a pathetic Daimyo.'_ Ozai thought with a sneer as he glared at his son out of the corner of his eye and then walked toward the blond with a chuckle.

"I see and applaud you young Overlord. In my own opinion the Daimyo of the nations have grown fat, weak, and lazy. It's good to see an up and coming Daimyo who isn't afraid to get his own hands dirty. The weakness of a Daimyo shows the weakness of his nation after all." Ozai stated and then held a hand out towards the blond, Naruto looking at him suspiciously, the man chuckling at his look. "So allow me to offer my hand in friendship, and to the continued growth of ourselves and our nations through us." Ozai offered and Naruto slowly reached up and gave the man a firm handshake without trying to break his bones.

"Fine… now if you'll excuse me, I have some wolves to track down." Naruto stated rather pointedly and Ozai nodded his head, watching on silently as the blond crouched down before sprinting in the direction of the bandits. _'An intriguing young man if nothing else, perhaps I can gain a suitable heir after all…'_ Ozai thought to himself before turning to check on his wife and his son, though wishing that his son wasn't such an utter and complete disappointment…

Meanwhile, Naruto jumped up and dug his claws into the branch of a tree before twirling up into a flip where he landed on the branch. Raising his arm, the young Overlord-In-Training called on his minions, the "Tone" gnarl mentioned echoing out like a war horn. Waiting patiently, Naruto then heard the usual chatter and laughter of his minions as they scurried into the clearing beneath him. "Master! You call?" One asked and the blond jumped down and landed before them with a heavy thud. Nodding his head, Naruto then turned and looked to where the tracks of the bandits and wolves were heading before motioning for the Minions to follow.

"Follow!" One declared while the formed up behind him as he ran off, the Minions barely managing to keep up with his pace. Narrowing his eyes, the blond haired youth raised a brow when he heard screaming, snarls / howls, and what sounded like a girls laughter. _'Something tells me those bandits really bit off more than they could chew.'_ The blond haired youth thought to himself before sliding to a halt and widening his eyes at what he was seeing. Besides wolves viciously attacking the many bandits, there was a girl who could be no older than he was, possibly a year or more younger, who was shooting jets of fire from her hands and feet, laughing childishly as she nearly burned several of the terrified bandits…

'_Un-Holy shit… is she crazy or what?'_ Naruto wondered to himself while looking at her strangely as he took in her appearance. She had black hair pulled up into a topknot with a yellow band and her bangs framing her eyes, her skin was fair, her eyes a surprising amber-gold color, and besides her slightly longer eyelashes she didn't really act too much like a girl to Naruto. She wears a crimson tunic with a grey shirt beneath it, a very dark crimson red sash tied around her waist, a pair of black bracers over her wrists and forearms, baggy grey hakama-pants with black coverings over her shins and calves and a pair of black sandals.

"Come now, tell me you aren't running away from a little girl. Such cowardice, you bandits should really be ashamed of yourselves." The young girl noted with a mocking smirk and Naruto palmed his face while shaking his head slowly. _'Yeah, she's crazy.'_ He decided before cursing as several wolves lunged at him, the bandits looking from him to the girl for only a second.

"Screw you Gaki! You're no girl, you're a fucking demon!" One of them shouted before running away and Naruto felt a sudden and intense urge to gut the man for that one. _'Probably just bad memories… yeah, calm down.'_ The blond told himself while slamming his fists into the back of one of the wolves and sweeping his Minions after the cowardly bandits.

"For the master!" One of the cried as they ran passed him, the blond haired youth silently kicking a wolf down before flipping up and over them to land beside of the girl, Azula if he was remembering correctly.

"Who are you? Another peasant?" She questioned and Naruto felt the sudden inexplicable urge to hurt her as well. _'I mean really! Did I just never notice how rude and obnoxious everyone else in the world was or what?'_ The blond mentally demanded of no one before shaking his head and quickly forming lightning over his right hand and swinging his arm to form a Lightning-Whip. The attack lashed out with deadly accuracy, throwing several of the wolves back with yelps of pain. Grunting Naruto then formed a fireball into his hand and pounded it into the ground, sending out a ring of fire that caused the wolves to quickly retreat back into the forest.

Cracking his neck, the blond haired Overlord-In-Training then turned to Azula with a frown on his face. "No, I'm The Overlord, and I'm of royal blood Gaki." Naruto stated pointedly, the gruff tone of his voice irritating him as he reached up to grasp at his throat with a frown. _'Gah! When is this going to clear up and what's wrong with me?'_ He couldn't help but wonder while Azula leaned forward with an amused smirk across her lips as she looked at him.

"Really? Than what're you doing out here? Looking for a bit of fun?" The young girl questioned with a raised brow and Naruto wondered what was wrong with her for what felt like the millionth time. Not hearing an answer from him, Azula then shrugged her shoulders and smirked once more. "Sorry, but those bandits are cowards, they even ran away from a little girl like me." Azula noted while forcing a "cute" look that didn't seem natural on her for some reason and Naruto rolled his eyes.

"I wonder why… it couldn't be because of how you were shooting fire out of your fists…" Naruto noted sarcastically Azula snickering even though it was a barb at her she had to admit she enjoyed his wit.

"Well in any case, what are you doing out here? Overlord-San?" The girl questioned of him with a tilt of her head and Naruto couldn't shake the feeling that this girl was going to be trouble some day… however for who, he couldn't tell yet.

"Your father wanted me to fetch you." Naruto replied for a moment before he felt something and quickly grabbed the girl and ducked down.

"What do you think you're doing?" She demanded only to watch as a near invisible wave of power passed over them, and both looked to see a boy flip out of the trees to land across from them, dressed in a tattered old loincloth, a long black cloak that had a hood to shadow his face, old bandages around his hands and feet, and iron-manacles on his wrists and ankles with broken chains hanging from them. _'This one is a kid too, but he's even younger than Azula.'_ Naruto noted instantly before widening his eyes when he saw the boy manipulate raw mana in his bare hands. _'Oh crap, and he's a prodigy too!'_ Naruto thought while lunging out of the way as the boy threw another bolt of energy where they had been moments before, the ground exploding upon impact.

"What was that?" Azula questioned with narrowed eyes and a calculative look on her face while Naruto released her and got back onto his feet with a frown. _'That wasn't an Aura-Bolt, it's not focused enough into a ball, and so this must be a totally different branch of Magic.'_ Naruto thought to himself while Azula got up and brushed herself off for a moment before stretching out her arms as she kept her eyes trained onto the young man across from them. "You going to answer me?" Azula questioned with an irritated look and Naruto grunted while slowly sliding into a battle ready position.

"It's magic…" Naruto replied and Azula smirked and shook her head.

"I may be a child but I'm not stupid, magic isn't real. It's all illusions and those Jutsu that Shinobi use." Azula stated and Naruto smirked while Kori stuck her head out of his hood and then flew over to her with her hands on her hips. "Is that a real Tennin?" The girl asked with shock and even a bit of awe while Kori just have her a look.

"Kori thinks that little girl should not speak of things she doesn't understand, yes?" Kori stated with a nod and then looked to Naruto, Azula just gaping at the sight of an actual faerie. As she did the blond Overlord-in-Training rolled his eyes then frowned as he formed a ball of fire into his free hand.

"No time…" The blond growled out in discomfort, Kori nodding as she flew over to float beside of her master. Seeing this, the young man across from them held out his arms before swinging them inwards. Instantly thirteen celestial swords formed around his body before he spun in place and sent all of them flying towards them. "Un-Holy shit!" Naruto declared before quickly grabbing Azula and Kori and moving out of the way of the blades. Said ethereal weapons tore their way through the trees behind where they had been, Naruto and Azula both watching with wide eyes as they did.

"Oh my… the boy not just a child Master, the boy is an Archon!" Kori said with wide eyes and a small amount of fear while Naruto blinked as he tried to remember what exactly an Archon was supposed to be. _"Hello, sire? Can you hear me?"_ Gnarl's voice suddenly sounded and Naruto thanked whatever deity was looking out for him that his Minion-Master had finally contacted him.

'_Gnarl what's an Archon?'_ Naruto questioned quickly and could swear he felt Gnarl blink in confusion from the question.

"_Uh… well… an Archon is your ancestral people among The Black Barron's family. They were the descendants of his younger brother, Sir William Black, who would later become King of Albion and the progenitor of the Archon Bloodline, AKA, the Hero Bloodline."_ Gnarl replied and Naruto mentally groaned as he realized that he was dealing with a very distant relative.

'_Wonderful, cause I've found one here in the forest…'_ Naruto noted flatly while pushing himself back up and watching the cloaked youth warily.

"_Really? That's interesting… but I wonder how an Archon got to our lands from Albion? Not to mention one so young…"_ Gnarl wondered to himself while Naruto looked to a gaping Azula and cracked his neck with a frown. Watching the boy he then cursed and lifted his hands to form a wall of shadows as the boy sent another blast of energy at them once more. Growling and spreading his arms, the shadows receded and then crawled up his body to shift and change.

"Still don't believe in magic!" Naruto demanded and Azula opened her mouth for a second, and then closed it as both "The Overlord" and the boy clearly didn't use hand seals and from the shredded trees, that had definitely not been an illusion. Gathering what little dignity she had left, the girl flipped onto her feet with a jet of flame before gathering more between her hands with a deep frown.

"That peasant is really going to regret that…" She stated and Naruto shook his head with a frown, but mentally decided not to mention that the boy was probably descended from royalty as well. However they weren't given much time to think as the boy lashed out, throwing his arms at them and sending waves of energy towards them. Rolling to the side, Naruto evaded while Azula flipped up and landed in a crouch before jetting forward, leaving a trail of fire behind her as she did. _'Wow… that girl sure has a fiery spirit…'_ Naruto quipped dryly while Kori watched in interest as Azula twisted into a kick, sending an arc of flame at the boy.

However he then held out his arms to form a sphere of raw mana, glowing blue lines shining brilliantly as a wind kicked up his cloak. However that also let Naruto see he was heavily scarred beneath it, the scars crisscrossing his body like a tiger's stripes. _'Unholy shit… this kid, he's even worse off than me…'_ Naruto thought while the boy then pushed out wards with his wall, throwing Azula back with the unseen force.

"_Ooh! That was Force-Push sire! A very handy spell as it can be shaped into a variety of forms depending on your need. All it is is raw mana, no shaping or anything, just raw mana."_ Gnarl noted and Naruto mentally hummed at that very interesting little bit of information before crouching down and kicking forward.

"Kori!" Naruto ordered and the Unseelie moved to swirl around his arm as he stomped forward to come to a stop and tossed a massive fireball at the cloaked youth. The boy quickly used Force-Push to move out of the way however, moving into a sideways flip before landing in a crouch. _'The brat is agile I'll give him that much…'_ Naruto mused before narrowing his eyes when he saw that the boy was letting out several heavy breaths. _'But his stamina leaves a little something to be desired.'_ He added before forming another fireball and twisting to throw it at the cloaked youth as well. The youth formed a barrier around himself to block but Naruto approached on his own and slammed a fist into the barrier, shattering it and knocking the boy back.

The boy rolled back from the blow and Naruto lunged at him once more with a low sweeping kick. He saw it coming however and flipped over the blond before kicking down at him with a spin. Smirking Naruto caught the kick and then twisted around before throwing the youth skidding away. _'His tactics are also sub-par, you should never let a superior opponent get leverage on you.'_ Naruto thought to himself while the boy flipped back to his feet, his hood falling back to finally reveal his face. He was very young with glowing blue eyes and strange blue tattoos that also glowed, his hair was messy and brown in color, his skin was deeply tanned and weathered with numerous deep scars and two gouges at either side of his cheek that made mock whiskers.

'_Hmm… the scars are from either taming those wolves, or more likely given his shackles, he was a slave who escaped his cage. And since the Orcs don't outright torture their slaves I'm betting he belonged to the Drow.'_ Naruto thought to himself while Azula frowned upon seeing the young man across from the blond Overlord. Deciding not to mention his scars, Azula lunged at the boy who quickly raised his hood and pushed off of the ground with Force-Push, jetting himself high into the air. _'He's also fairly inventive, though that's not too surprising since he's a Mage.'_ Naruto thought to himself while the youth then lunged at him from the air, throwing a punch at the blond Overlord.

Smirking Naruto stomped a foot into the ground to brace himself and caught the first before slamming the youth into the ground. The boy twisted into a kick to his side yet Naruto nearly laughed at how weak it felt before dragging the boy on the ground in a semi-spin then stopped and sent him flying back into a tree. _'His physical weakness isn't just limited to his stamina; he's also, well… physically weak. Not unusual for a Mage but given how long he's probably been out here I'd have suspected he'd be stronger.'_ Naruto thought to himself while walking towards the youth as he slowly stumbled back up to his feet, only to fall to his knees.

"My, you certain gave him a trouncing." Azula noted as she walked over to look at the boy, then shook her head with a frown. "Going to kill him?" She questioned with a raised brow and Naruto scowled beneath his mask.

"No, with his abilities he could prove useful to me." Naruto replied and Azula looked skeptical before they both watched the boy as he used Force-Push to quickly jet towards them and grabbed Naruto by his Flame-Gauntlet. Placing his feet onto Naruto's upper torso the boy kicked off and into a flip, ripping the gauntlet off as well as Naruto's spare Overlord-Gem, which fell into the snow. Landing several feet from them, the boy slipped the gauntlet onto his arm and held it up, causing a massive fireball to form in his open hand.

"Great…" Naruto muttered with a frown while rolling forward as the boy threw the massive fireball towards them. Azula raised a brow with a smirk before jumping into a double-kick, sending a large arc of fire out that sliced cleanly through the massive ball of flames the boy had sent at them. Landing in a crouch, the girl watched Naruto slip his Overlord-Gem onto his right wrist, only to widen her eyes when she saw the silver-grey scales that covered his arm. _'Is that really scales growing on his arm? Or is it just armor… it… it must be armor.'_ Azula decided inwardly while Kori flew into the blond haired youth's hood and he formed a mass of lightning over his right arm.

"Alright Gaki, I'm through playing around with you!" Naruto growled out while swinging his arm, a Lightning-Whip lashing out at the boy who jumped over it and stumbled on his own feet. Falling into a crouch with labored breathing, the boy looked up for a moment before jumping back into a tree and whistling loudly. _'That can't be good.'_ The blond noted as mere seconds later the wolves from before came in even greater numbers, the boy jumping off deeper into the forest. _'He did not just steal my gauntlet!'_ Naruto inwardly growled while forming a bolt of lightning into his hands while looking at the wolves with a scowl.

"I am so not in the mood for you right now!" Naruto roared while swinging his arm and flicking the Lightning-Whip at the wolves. They yelped as a few jumped back in pain, the few brave ones lunging forward where Azula grinned and ducked into a kick sending a blast of fire at them.

"You have to wonder how he trained these wolves so well." Azula noted before flipping into an Ax-Kick that sent an arc of fire into the wolves while Naruto merely grunted in annoyance.

"I'm more interested in getting my gauntlet back. Nobody steals from me!" Naruto growled out darkly while swinging his Lightning-Whip into the wolves wildly. Azula smirking to herself before twisting into a spin, sending another arc of fire out to keep the wolves back. However, she then looked to the side as with a cry of "For the Overlord!" numerous brown… things… lunged into the wolves and started to beat and cut into them wildly.

"What in the hell are those things?" Azula questioned with her nose turned upwards and Naruto rolled his eyes before a brown brought him some Life-force.

"Master, we's kill all de' bandits! Dis for you!" The Minion said while offering the Life-Force to Naruto, the blond Overlord-In-Training taking it into his Overlord-Gem and then crossing his arms.

"Anything else?" Naruto questioned and the minion nodded his head before handing the blond a scroll.

"We's find on bandit!" It declared and Naruto frowned to himself before snatching the scroll from him and opening it up. Behind the young Overlord, Azula watched as the Minions chased off the wolves before they dispersed and started to take weapons, clothes, and armor from the dead bandits and wolves around them. Seeing Naruto reading a scroll, Azula sauntered over and tried to look at it, getting a slight glare from the blond when she did.

"What's that?" She questioned and Naruto turned to the scroll with a deep scowl on his face.

"It's orders from the Fire-Daimyo's court, orders to attack your family…" Naruto replied with a scowl while tapping his chin with a deep frown on his face. That caused a snarl to cross Azula's face before she snatched the scroll from the blond and read it over.

"It's not grandfather Azulon's Handwriting… this doesn't even have his sigil…" She noted more to herself before rolling the scroll up and sticking it into her clothes with a frown on her face. "Seems father has enemies even in grandfather's court. I'll see he gets this and finds out who so he can make them pay for this treachery." Azula decided with a nod of her head, Naruto rolling his eyes before holding his hand up and calling all of the life-force of the fallen wolves into himself, swaying for a moment as it hit him. Shaking his head, the blond then placed a clawed hand onto the side of his head and called his minions back.

"I suggest you head back to your family, I have a Gaki to catch…" Naruto growled out and Azula scoffed while placing her hands on her hips.

"Do you honestly think I'm going to retreat? I may be a princess but I can take care of myself thank you very much." Azula stated and Naruto growled under his breath before scoffing and walking into the forest.

"Do what you will, but I take no responsibility for you if you die." Naruto replied and the girl just smirked as she ran after him as he trudged through the forest. _'The trees are getting thicker, the ground is less covered in snow, and I'm feeling uneasy, something in this forest is dangerous…'_ Naruto decided before stopping and walking to the side when he saw a splash of yellow orange. Kicking a log out of the way, Naruto found a Minion-Totem sitting in a trench and raised a brow. _'Of all the places I could find one…'_ Naruto thought to himself before sweeping his minions over to the Minion-Totem, his browns quickly scooping it up.

"_Oooh, an Object, I like objects!"_ Gnarl noted from the back of his head as a Waypoint-Gate opened up nearby along with a Brown-Minion-Gate. The Minions carried the Minion-Totem over to the waypoint-gate and sat it down on it, quickly moving away as it vanished in a flash of light. _"You can now summon Fifteen Minions Sire! Fifteen! That's double the number of brain cells in the average sheep."_ The Minion-Master noted and Naruto had to physically stop himself from laughing as he shook his head. Turning to Azula he saw a look on her face and rolled his eyes.

"Don't ask." He ordered and walked over to the Minion-Gate, summoning up a full horde before walking further into the forest. As he did, Azula frowned while walking over to the Minion-Gate and tried to do the same, only to frown when nothing happened. _'He has a power to summon those little Amanojaku at will, he has scales, and he claims to use Magic. Hmm. I had best keep an eye on him. He's interesting.'_ Azula decided before smirking deviously as she ran after the young Overlord as he continued his search for the boy who had stolen his gauntlet…

(Konoha…)

The Village of the Hidden Leaves had never been better; at least that was the general opinion of most Civilians… at first. Recently there had been major budget cuts to most if not all Civilian Owned stores and businesses, in order to increase the Budget for the Orphanage, which needed several major renovations, to run the Shinobi Academy and of course pay its many teachers more for their hard work. These changes unfortunately meant higher standards, and also meant a closer eye was being kept on every teacher, not just the slackers, but every teacher in the academy practically felt like they had someone constantly breathing down their neck. However, that is somewhat inconsequential as we go to the Shinobi Academy to see a student, not a teacher.

The said student is Haruno Sakura, who is lying with her face flat on her desk with a mentally groan. _'Why did Ayane drag me away to be tortured by her toys again?'_ The Pink haired girl wondered to herself pitiably while shivering, as Ayane had been especially vindictive for some reason. Now, one might wonder why she wasn't trying to complain, loudly, about this sort of abuse from her sister… The Reason was actually quite simple, as no one would believe that she could actually be overpowered by her little sister of all people. Not only was Sakura bigger than her, but stronger as well, so it would seem silly and even pathetic for her to complain that her little sister tortured her.

'_And I can't let Sasuke-Kun think I'm pathetic…'_ She thought to herself and let out a breath before closing her eyes, sitting in the back of the class. Why? Because right now she'd rather be alone, and even sitting next to Sasuke after being mercilessly tortured by Ayane's deranged dolls was never fun. She didn't want to equate such humiliation and pain to being near Sasuke after all. Letting out a breath, Sakura considered why Ayane was in such a foul mood, basically thinking of anything she could've done to anger her the day before. _'Did I eat that last cup of instant Ramen? No… I'm not stupid enough to do that after last time.'_ Sakura thought with a shudder as her sister was, like Naruto, something of a Ramen fiend.

And now that she thought about it, Naruto and Ayane were actually quite similar in a few other ways. They were both short for their age, both had an addiction to Ramen, both were quick to anger, both had a strange fixation with something, Ayane to her dolls, while Naruto had a fixation with The Hokage, and finally, they both had the uncanny ability to drive out the worst parts of her personality. Naruto dragged out her violent temperamental side, while Ayane pulled out her weak and cowardly side. _'If Ayane were just a couple years older I would've set them up on a date, and dealt with two birds with one stone…'_ Sakura thought to herself with a brief exhale of breath and then shivered at the thought for some strange reason.

Shaking her head of that, the pink haired girl returned to her earlier thoughts on why Ayane had been so irked yesterday. _'Did I enter her room without permission? No, I'm not that stupid. Did I invade her privacy? No… her diary is in her room. Did I rip one of her books again? No, I'd remember that if I did… Did I try to drag her out shopping? Hmm… I don't think so but this whole week has been sort of a blur since Naruto died… died…'_ The pink haired girl noted while freezing mid-thought as that one thought finally registered in her mind. _'He's really gone…'_ She thought to herself while blinking as she looked to where his usual seat was, only now it was empty, the blond haired ball of energy gone…

'_It's weird… I mean, he was just here a couple days ago.'_ Sakura thought to herself while staring at the empty seat for the longest time and blinking owlishly as she did so. _'And he's just… gone now? Is that what death is? You're just, gone?'_ Sakura wondered to herself before shivering at the sudden chilling feeling that crawled up the length of her spine. However as she did she felt her eye twitch as she remembered the last time she saw Naruto alive. _'He… asked me out again, I slugged him, and told him to get lost… but… I didn't mean it like this.'_ She thought to herself before shaking her head and slamming her forehead into her desk with a mild grunt of discomfort.

'_How do you take back what you said to someone who's already gone?'_ The pink haired girl wondered to herself while he eyes glassed over as she crossed her arms and laid her head on them. _'I wonder, did Naruto die thinking I hated him?'_ The pink haired girl wondered to herself and felt a pang of guilt suddenly sting at her heart. _'I don't… didn't, hate Naruto, he was just so annoying, I wanted him to leave me alone but, I didn't want him to die for it to happen.'_ She continued to think to herself while almost completely ignoring the world around her as she became lost in thought. As she began to wonder about whether or not Naruto had thought she hated him, the girl couldn't help but mentally go over how she treated him over the years and winced.

'_He asks me out, I punch him, he compliments me, I brain him, he tries to be nice, I kick him… and that's not counting how much Verbal abuse I probably dished out added onto all the physical.'_ She thought to herself while remaining in her earlier position as she considered how she should feel about all this. _'I see that there's a pattern there, and I don't like it. But he was just so annoying!'_ The girl thought to herself before blinking her eyes open and looking up when she heard the class bell. _'Oh great, now I've slept through class too… wonderful.'_ She thought sarcastically while getting up and heading out of the classroom with a frown still crossing her face.

Shaking her head tiredly, the girl wondered home, unaware of something that was stirring beneath her feet. Down below, in the sewers, Zim was skittering too and fro while using his, surprisingly advanced, grasp of technology to build himself a home. _'Not quite as good as The Keep back in the Underworld but I'll do!'_ The tiny Goblin mentally declared with a wide grin slipping across his face as he looked at his work thus far. It was simple, he'd made a floor and walls, strangely out of long tendrils / flexible pipes of metal, where he found them was anyone's guess. Other than those, he'd also started work on something new after finding a few gizmos around Konoha.

Admittedly, Zim was somewhat on the insane side, however he was still somewhat brilliant with machinery, and especially electronics. They had always worked out for him, as every time he tried something else, it usually ended up blowing up in his face or killing the current leader of his tribe. The latter happened more than the former unfortunately, which was why Red and Purple had locked up Zim. Sticking his tongue out of one side of his mouth, Zim focused on building a rather simple device, in his opinion at least, a view scope so he could see up above ground from his lair. Of course he'd still have to go and stick it somewhere that no one would notice it, but that didn't really matter to Zim.

In his own opinion, the mission always came first, before everything, even the tasty snacks! Well… maybe second to snacks, and to getting praise from The Overlord, and serving his Overlord to gain said praise, but still! It was pretty damn high on his list of things that he needed to do! Chuckling darkly, Zim continued to work while sitting in midair with his new spiderlegs out. He had to admit that he liked them; they were sleek and functional and allowed him to seem taller! And what could be better than that! In Zim's own opinion, nothing was better than that besides The Overlord praising him as the genius that he knew he was.

"Soon you disgusting human pig-smellies, soon Zim's beautiful base shall be completed! And then you will rue the day that you were born!" The Goblin declared loudly before rearing his head back into a bout of psychotic laughter. As he laughed one of his spiderlegs was lifted off of the ground, knocking him off balance and sending him and the devices he was working on crashing to the ground. "Ah! My spine!" The Goblin declared loudly as he now writhed in pain on the floor… so much for the people of Konoha ruing the day he came to their village…

TBC…


	10. Will of The Wild Pt2

**Disclaimer**: I own anything within; this story is merely a way for me to alleviate boredom…

[Lord Pain: Welcome back all readers and reviewers!

Gnarl: Finally! The Master speaks first!

Shin: Oh yes, that is most excellent isn't it…

Kori: Yes, it is a most glorious occasion!

Tak: I'm bursting with excitement…

Will: …

Giblet: Should we tell Gnarl, Master pay us not to speak first?

Kara: Let him think its fate or something…

Jinx: Shut up and start the chapter! Today's my debut!]

_**NU**_: _**Dark Lord**_ +

_**Chapter 8**_: _**Will of The Wild Pt.2**_…

"Normal Speech"…

'_Normal Thoughts_'…

[Radio/Tower Heart In Use]…

"**Jutsu In Use**"…

"**Demon Speech**"…

'_**Demon Thoughts**_'…

"_**Inner Spirit Speech**_"…

(Forest…)

Naruto growled low in his throat as he marched through the forest with Azula following close behind. The young "Princess" couldn't hide a slight smirk while watching the strange young man. Of course, she was also keeping her eyes on the many scales strewn across his body. This was because she had originally believed it to be some kind of armor. However, after watching it for a while, she had noticed that it was seamless and moved along his body perfectly. _'So he has scales… is it some kind of bloodline then?'_ The young girl wondered to herself inwardly before crossing her arms and gazing to Kori, where the tiny Flame Unseelie was sitting on the blond's shoulder.

'_A real live Yousei… if I was just a bit more girlish I might want to keep one for myself or something. Tai Lee and Mai will never believe me when I tell them about this… well, Tai-Lee will and start pouting about not getting to see it.'_ Azula thought to herself while also mentally thinking about how Tai-Lee would squeal with delight upon seeing a real live Yousei before hugging the thing to death. Mai would probably just be speechless at the sight, since she'd been the one to tell them they weren't real in the first place. _'Now that I think about it, it'd be fun to prove her wrong.'_ Azula mused and made a note to find out more about Yousei from this Overlord so she could catch one of her own.

Looking back to the said boy, she then frowned while turning to look towards the "Amanojaku" that were walking behind them. The strange spindly beings that followed and seemed to obey him were as always loud and silly, one of them even walking on its hands while the others laughed their tiny asses off at the sight. _'By Kami-Sama I knew Amanojaku were stupid beyond all reason but this borders on the insane! How can someone with so much power have such idiotic servants and warriors?'_ The young woman wondered to herself with a frown while shaking her head, and then looked back to the "Interesting" young Overlord at her side.

Said youth was still pissed about the fact that his Flame Gauntlet was stolen by the young Archon, though only so much. In all honesty Kori could teach him more about Fire-Magic and enhance his powers with it more than the gauntlet… but it was the damn principle of the matter! He was to be a lord, so he couldn't just let some random punk steal from him or he'd look weak! Especially if he was in front of the daughter of the future Daimyo of Hi-no-Kuni, that was just asking for trouble. Even he know that it was near impossible to gain the respect of a man in power if he just let someone take a powerful weapon from him!

'_Still, I need to catch that Gaki and send him to Gnarl, that way we can try and get him on our side… he is by all rights a very distant cousin after all.'_ Naruto thought to himself, a slight smile touching his lips at the thought of having a cousin, or any kind of family at this point, even if it was only distantly. The blond then slowed when he saw something covered in vines nearby, then walked over to it with a raised brow. It looked to be some kind of chair, with doors built into the sides of it, a strange seat, and what looked like manacles in the armrests and a belt built into it's back. _'What's a chair doing out here?'_ The blond haired youth wondered while pulling some of the vines away from the old object, Azula wondering the same thing.

"_Chair? Wait… MY CHAIR! Master! That's my old chair! Thank you for finding it sire, I would be most grateful to you if you could return it to me!"_ Gnarl suddenly declared and Naruto blinked for a moment before backing up and sweeping the Minions over to the chair. The Minions quickly started to pull the vines away from the Chair, before four of them grunted for a moment before picking it up. _"Watch it you little fools, if you break that chair I swear I'll break your hides!"_ Gnarl warned darkly while Naruto watched the Minions carry the chair to the side.

"Where are they going with that chair?" Azula questioned and Naruto shrugged his shoulders in response. Frowning only slightly, Azula then tilted her head while crossing her arms over her chest. "Aren't you even a tiny bit worried about them?" Azula then questioned and Naruto shook his head before motioning for her to follow as he walked off. Thus they continued through the forest, Naruto silently wondering what was so special about Gnarl's chair before blinking as he approached a serious of stumps with doors in them. _'What in the hell are those?'_ He wondered to himself, and then took a step back, only to hear a loud crack. Turning the blond then grunted seeing he'd stepped onto one of the stumps and had managed to break it open.

'_This won't end well…_' Naruto decided before looking around as several squeaking sounds echoed out around him and Azula. "Overlord-San, what's happening?" The Princess questioned while looking all around yet seeing nothing anywhere around her. Grunting for a moment, Naruto then looked down and raised a brow upon seeing several bearded creatures with pointy hats spill out of the stumps and quickly surround him and Azula. Seeing where he was looking, Azula also looked down to the strange creatures before openly gaping.

"_Sire the minions have delivered my chair to a Waypoint Gate, I really must thank you for finding… oh my, it looks like you've encountered a rather large gathering of Gnomes… how annoying…"_ Gnarl noted to himself, Naruto raising a brow as he'd heard Gnomes were a lot bigger than this… unless that was only in other lands.

"What in Kami-Sama's name are these things?" She demanded while Naruto grunted and watched one of them approach. The one started to squeak and shout loudly and Naruto raised a brow while looking down at him.

'_What's he saying Gnarl?'_ Naruto questioned of his Minion-Master and the elderly grey let out a grumble.

"_It seems as if you've stepped on The Gnome Elders House, Sire."_ Gnarl started while The Elder started to yell at him some more, Naruto reaching up to scratch his head while Kori was staring down at the Gnome with a deep frown. _"My Gnomish is a bit rusty Sire… but, now I think he's either declaring war on you… or trying to marry you off to his pet dormouse."_ Gnarl finally translated, Naruto _**really**_ hoping for the former in this case, while still watching the Gnome. The Elder Gnome then lunged forward and jumped into a Kick at the blond, only to fall over backwards when he did. _"That was clearly an act of aggression, Sire! It cannot be tolerated! Exterminate those squeakers!"_ Gnarl declared and the blond was all too happy to agree as he lifted a foot over the Gnome, and then stomped down and crushed it effortlessly.

"Was that really necessary?" Azula questioned of Naruto and the blond gave her a deadpanned look.

"He actually just declared war on me…" Naruto replied truthfully and Azula just gaped for a moment while staring at him incredulously, then looked at the Gnomes in shock. These little specks of nothing had had the sheer moronic idea to declare war on someone easily ten times their size… before he was even full grown?

"Dear Kami-Sama, if these buffoons want a war that badly, then I'll give them a war like they've never seen!" The Fire-Nations Princess declared while crouching and twisting on one leg, sending an arc of fire outwards and into the many Gnomes, setting them all ablaze.

"_Ooh! I like her Sire! She really knows how to cause some mayhem! Not to mention she's from a family of nobility, remember sire, easiest way to take over is to win the heart of the king's daughter! It's a lot less bloody that way."_ Gnarl noted with a slight chuckle while Azula then twisted into another sweeping kick, sending another arc of fire out and setting more of the Gnomes ablaze. Rolling his eyes, Naruto then sent his Minions into the fray now that Azula had stopped, the tiny-terrors giving a battle cry as they attacked the Gnomes as well. This caused Kori to start laughing, however it was somehow more sinister than her usually cute laughter as the tiny Unseelie then grinned while floating into the air.

"Yes! Burn them all! Gnomes should know better than to attack Master! Let them die in burning fiery death!" The tiny flame unseelie declared before changing into a flaming ball that then zipped into the Gnome's homes and started to set them all ablaze, Gnomes running too and fro. As she did, Naruto gaped at the sight while his Familiar started to rain doom down on their heads. And Azula just watched it all with her eyes widening in shock and awe as Kori started to laugh with sheer sadistic glee as she set numerous Gnomes on fire herself…

"Is it wrong for me to say I want to be like her when I grow up?" Azula suddenly questioned and with a groan, Kara flew from Naruto's hood, the shadows twisting and turning around her as she did before forming into a familiar black cloak.

"It kind of is considering that she's sort of evil…" Kara noted while shaking her head as she watched Kori continue to set all the Gomes, and their houses and even their pets, on fire. "Besides that, Kori is also the Queen of her people, a powerful warrior, and the most beautiful of her people." Kara noted and then frowned to herself as she realized those were actually fairly good goals for a Princess… well save the whole beauty thing as some girls just didn't grow up beautiful. "Well… I guess there are worse role-models, oh, and she's sadistic and cruel when she wants to be." Kara then added and Azula blinked before smirking towards the tiny Unseelie.

"That's what I like about her… though why do you all dress like little tramps?" Azula had to question of Kara and the Unseelie queen rolled her eyes for a moment before tilting her head to look at her.

"At our size only very little fits us… besides that, as Kori's big sister Koma often says, "if you've got it, flaunt it!" and all Unseelie are fairly well developed like us." Kara replied while leaning her fist into her cheek as Kori soon flew before them with a wide grin on her face.

"Master! Kori has done away with the foolish Gnomes who dared to declare war on you! She has done good, yes?" Kori questioned and Naruto silently nodded his head before holding up his hand and making a waving motion. Instantly all the many different Gnomes' life force flew into his Overlord-Gem. With that done with, Naruto noted that Kara frowned and shot down into the fires. "Friend Kara, where are you going? Those buildings are not for the playing in now!" The Tiny Flame-Unseelie then shouted only for Kara to drag something out of one of the houses and then jump up into the air.

"Is that _**another**_ Yousei? By Kami-Sama, how has no one ever found one before you?" Azula demanded as it seemed that mythical creatures just popped out of the woodworks around the young Overlord. _'Tai-Lee will love that… especially if he has any other mythical creatures for her to cuddle.'_ Azula noted to herself while Kori mutely rolled her eyes as she thought of her question. The truth was, most Faeries used a special charm to keep themselves invisible to human eyes, but when they were bonded to a human the charm no longer worked for some reason. However she felt no compulsion to tell the young princess this, as she was not her familiar, she was Naruto's.

Said Overlord walked to Kara as she pulled the other Faerie up, Naruto raising a brow and wondering why she was bound and gagged. Holding out his hands, Naruto let Kara deposit the other faerie into his hands and tilted his head to one side while looking at her. "She's tied up…" Naruto noted gruffly and Kara nodded her head, and then flew back to Naruto's shoulder to sit down as the blond inspected the Faerie for a moment.

He noted that she was very thin and wiry looking, with her pink hair pulled up into two horns with black bands while some came forward to hang over her bangs and the rest fanned out at the back of her neck, her long pointed ears poking out of her pink hair, her skin was a pale ashen grey with jagged pink markings at the sides of and below her eyes on her cheeks, her four wings are the average Faerie type and are a rainbow of different shades of color yet taper to a sharp point, however odder still was her pink snake like eyes, and that her fingers and toes are tipped with black claws.

She wears a black choker collar with a blue tag on it, the word "Jinx" barely visible to the significantly larger Naruto, a black and blue leather segmented tube-top that leaves her stomach visible, a pair of bands over her biceps with scalloped sleeves hanging to her wrists, a pair of brown "panties" that were tied off at her hips, a scalloped black cloth tied over them like a skirt that barely reached her thighs, and a pair of black and blue stockings with the toes and hells cut out of them. Looking on curiously as the Faerie struggled with its bonds, Naruto looked to Kara then Kori with a frown.

"What kind of Faerie is she?" Naruto questioned gruffly before grimacing at his pained throught, Kori humming with a frown. Kori then flew over and frowned deeper when she saw the Faerie, immediately taking note of the odd pink hair. That color was common to only one type of Faerie she was familiar with, and it made the red head shake her head while crossing her arms over her chest with a sneer.

"It just common House-Faerie Master. They not especially powerful in anything but healing magic…" Kori noted while Azula looked to Naruto's hands as well and saw a pink haired creature in his hands. In her mind, the faerie he was holding looked more like what she expected of a Yousei… only with a lot more black. She figured Mai might actually like these real Yousei over those girly legends about them.

"What's a "House-Faerie" supposed to be?" Azula questioned and Kara flew over to stand on Naruto's shoulder before replying.

"It's a type of Light-Magic Based Faerie that lives in a persons home. It helps to heal children when they sleep at night, takes teeth to the tooth faerie, locates lost toys or precious objects for the houses owners, they even clean homes a little, that kind of stuff." Kara replied with a dismissive wave and then both she and Kori looked at the pink haired faerie a moment longer and noted the unusual skin pigmentation. "However, I've never heard of them having Gray skin before…" Kara noted and Kori frowned before flying into Naruto's hands and placing her hands onto her hips, as she looked at the House-Faerie a bit closer.

"You are correct, Friend Kara, Grey not normal color for House-Faerie skin." She admitted and then formed a bit of fire at her fingers before shooting a small blast that cut the ropes that were holding the House-Faerie captive. Free from her bonds, the tiny Faerie then reached up and pulled the gag from her mouth to let in a breath of fresh air. Taking a few moments to breath, the tiny Faerie then snarled and scrambled to the side of Naruto's hands and glared at the burning homes of the Gnomes.

"That's what you get for kidnapping me you damn stupid Gnomes! I hope you all burn in hell!" The Faerie declared while holding a fist up, Kori grinning while Kara raised a brow at her choice of words.

"Oh my! I believe that House-Faerie is most agreeable, yes Master?" Kori questioned of her blond haired master, Naruto rolling his eyes before watching the strange Pink-Haired faerie as she started to send a slew of insults and curses down towards the Gnomes. "But, I do believe that House-Faerie is also most unusual, yes?" Kori noted to herself and Kara silently nodded her head in agreement before a sly smirk suddenly crossed her lips. Frowning for a moment Azula then glared at the House-Faerie as she started brushing herself off and muttering about "hexing" the Gnomes for trying to do "Things" to her while she was tied up.

"Hey you…" Azula Stated and the House-Faerie looked up at her and tilted her head to one side. "Who are you and what were you doing out here?" Azula demanded and the House-Faerie huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"My name is Jinx, and I'm out here cause one of those stupid perverted gnomes wanted to make me his bride after kidnapping me while I was trying to find a new home! I mean the nerve of some creatures, really!" "Jinx" declared loudly before looking to Naruto and blinked for a few moments as she did… "Have we met before? 'Cause I'm getting this seriously creepy Deja'vu' feeling…" Jinx questioned of the young Overlord in Training and Naruto shrugged his shoulders before Kara let out a slight chuckle as she looked at the Pinkette and drawing Naruto and Jinx's attention over to her.

"So, a Dark-Magic Addicted Faerie was wandering around and got captured by a pack of Gnomes…" She stated, causing Jinx to wince, Kori to giggle into her hands, and Naruto and Azula to look at her curiously. _'Dark-Magic Addicted… is that the same as how Kara is supposed to be addicted to my magic?'_ Naruto wondered to himself and heard Gnarl make a slight noise of disagreement.

"_Negative Sire, this is far more serious. An Unseelie addicted to magic is just a bit more pliable to her host than normal, or in other words she'll do things she normally wouldn't do. A Faerie who's addicted to Dark-Magic is one who has absorbed so much of it that they literally forced out all Light Magic from their body. And if they go without absorbing more Dark-Magic, they go crazy, and then die…"_ Gnarl explained darkly and Naruto widened his eyes while looking to Jinx as she glared at Kara angrily.

'_Then why would a Faerie even __**want**__ to a absorb Dark Magic, Gnarl?'_ The blond haired youth questioned of his Minion-Master and the old gray hummed lightly for a moment before answering.

"_It depends Sire. Some Addicts were locked in a place with nothing but Dark Magic for so long that it changed them. Others willingly absorbed it into themselves. Or my personal favorite, a being of especially Dark Magic could've changed her like your ancestor did with Queen Fay. In any case, after they absorb too much Dark-Magic, their body adapts to it and starts to reject Light Magic. Eventually they can no longer stand Light Magic at all. It also causes a few minor mental changes… This is also how the original Unseelie started out Sire, thus Jinx there is a new breed of Unseelie in the making."_ Gnarl explained, Naruto briefly wondering which kind of Addict Jinx was, then mentally slapping himself while figuring that would be very personal…

"Way to go, why don't you just tell the whole world you stupid bitch!" Jinx shouted angrily, Kara's smirk immediately turning to a frown as she glared at the Faerie. She didn't now why, she normally didn't get mad over such trivial insults, but for some reason the pinkette just made her _**really**_ angry… Narrowing her eyes Kara then zipped down into Naruto's hands to glare at the girl, the blond couldn't help but wonder why this was starting to feel really familiar…

"Call me a bitch again and I'll rip you in half, pinky!" Kara warned while poking Jinx in the chest, the other faerie knocking her hand away and leaning forward with a scowl on her face.

"I'll call you whatever I want! Shadow-Slut!" Jinx stated angrily and Kara felt her eye twitch and narrowed her eyes onto her dangerously.

"Snake-eyed cunt!" Kara growled out angrily and Jinx huffed indignantly.

"Bird Brained Tart!" She called back and Kara wondered why that seemed to make her so angry before snarling.

"Pink haired Tramp!" Kara growled while getting into Jinx's face the pinkette snarling at her when she did.

"You stupid two-dollar whore!" Jinx shot back at her and Kara's eyes flared before she snarled right back at the "Dark-Magic Addict" furiously.

"That's it!" She roared before jumping at Jinx with a cry, Naruto gaping in shock as the two started biting, clawing, and generally trying to kill one another, bursts of black and pink magic shooting out in all directions. Removing his hands from below the two Faeries, Naruto then backed away slowly while watching them hover in the air. There was a pink streak following behind Jinx while Kara's shadowy powers kept her afloat as they continued to attack one another viciously. Looking to Kori, Naruto was surprised to see that the red head was looking at this with even more surprise than he was, and watching the two try and kill one another in shock.

"_Ooh! A Cat fight between Faeries, I haven't seen one of those in a while, where's my popcorn?"_ Gnarl suddenly wondered and Naruto had to physically stop himself from laughing at the random remark from the Minion-Master. Shaking his head, Naruto then looked back to the still gaping Kori with a raised brow.

"This ever happen before?" Naruto questioned and Kori slowly shook her head while watching Jinx manage to catch Kara in a headlock, before the pinkette yelped as Kara grabbed her with shadowy-tentacles and tossed the pinkette away.

"You'll have to do better than that you stupid cunt!" Kara shouted at her furiously before lunging back at her once more, Kori just watching with a surprised look on her face. In all her years of knowing the other Unseelie Queen, she'd never once seen her like this before. She had a very even temper and there was little that could set her off, hell, her older Sister Koma had actually tried to set her off several times just for kicks, and called her every filthy thing imaginable, including what Jinx had said, and yet Kara just took it in stride… yet this House-Faerie somehow managed to do what not even her sister could!

"N-No Master… Kara very even tempered… this never happen before." Kori replied as Kara was hit by a blast of pink energy that laid her out on her back. Grunting for a moment, Kara then lunged at Jinx with a roar, sending several blades of Darkness at the pink haired Faerie who cursed and jumped to the side before snapping her fingers with a grin. This caused a gust of wind to blow and knock Kara out of the air and down to the ground below where Jinx then shot at her.

"Would someone please stop those two, watching them is amusing but we still have a boy and a pack of wolves that we need to find…" Azula reminded and Naruto nodded his head before plucking Jinx out of the air and picking up Kara, then frowned as Kara tried to free herself with a snarl.

"Release me Master! The Snake-Eyed bitch needs to die!" She snarled out and Naruto raised a brow before looking to Jinx who stuck out her tongue at the other Faerie.

"Bring it on Shadow-Wench! I'll take whatever you can dish out!" Jinx shouted at her angrily and Naruto had the feeling that this was going to become a very common occurrence between the two. Narrowing his eyes, Naruto then flipped the two Faeries into his hands and applied some pressure, causing them to stop all movement as they were held in his fists. The two tiny Faeries then looked to an annoyed Naruto as he glared at them while holding them in his fists.

"Both of you stop it!" Naruto ordered and they quickly nodded their heads, the blond then releasing them as Kara flew into his hood to calm down. Crossing his arms over his chest the blond haired Overlord-In-Training then looked to a nervous pink haired Faerie. "Now then, Jinx, do you know if a pack of wolves come by here?" Naruto questioned of her simply and she nodded her head.

"Yeah…" She replied, both waiting for her to tell them, and Naruto frowned as he realized she wasn't going to. Giving the Faerie a look, he noticed that she seemed very uncomfortable for some reason, and was fidgeting. Scowling and marching to the tiny House-Faerie, Azula then placed her hands on her hips while glaring at her.

"Then tell us where they went." Azula ordered with an annoyed tone, wondering why the Faerie didn't just tell them what they wanted to know in the first place. However the pink haired Faerie then shifted even more nervously in midair, and Kori instantly realized what was going on with her.

"Oh, Jinx is growing very hungry…" Kori noted aloud and Naruto looked over to the Flame Unseelie with a raised brow. "Faeries and Unseelie eat magic, since Jinx Dark-Magic Addict, she eat Dark-Magic, without it she start go crazy before dying…" Kori explained with amusement in her eyes and Jinx slumped in midair before nodding her head. Blinking for a moment, Azula felt a brief bit of sympathy for the tiny Faerie before clearing her throat.

"Oh… but why is she an addict then?" She questioned, Naruto having to restrain his temper as he felt the need to slap the back of her head. He had a feeling that neither she nor her father would take such abuse lightly, and he still needed her on his side…

"I was on a battle-field back home and in that type of terrain Light-Magic is really hard to find… I was really hungry and I found a source of Dark-Magic so I decided I'd just have one bite and get away. But, but it tasted _**soooo**_ good that I had to have some more, and then more, and then a couple months ago my skin started to discolor before I suddenly looked like this." Jinx explained and then held up her hand and shot out a firework of pink light from the tip of her index finger. "Not only that but now I can only cast Bad-Luck Spells, all of which are Jinxes Hexes and Curses… which is why I'm called "Jinx" now." The pink haired Faerie explained with a sullen look while Kori reached up and rubbed at her chin with a contemplative expression.

"So then she just liked the "Taste" of Dark-Magic so much that she turned into this from a normal Yousei then?" Azula questioned and Kori nodded her head before frowning deeply.

"That not rare, many Light Faerie like taste of Dark Magic… they just don't want admit it. Light Magic taste like milk… Dark Magic taste something like Chocolate. But for some taste different." Kori explained to the girl, Jinx nodding her head as a slightly drunken look crossed her features.

"Yeah… and boy do I love Chocolate! It's so chocolaty and good!" Jinx declared while hugging herself, Naruto raising a brow while the House-Faerie grinned nervously. "Sorry but I kind of inherited that trait from my aunt Wanda. She's seriously addicted to Chocolate, before she became a familiar you could give her some and she'd dance naked for you…" Jinx admitted and then slapped herself for the slip as Naruto held his ribs while trying not to laugh, Azula however didn't restrain herself as she laughed at that tidbit of information, while Kori snickered to herself before smirking at the pinkette.

"This "Wanda" lucky she no eat Dark-Magic, she be addict in days." Kori noted and Jinx silently nodded her head in agreement with the flame Unseelie. Her aunt had a serious problem with Chocolate before she was bonded to her host, and even now he could get her to do whatever he wanted if he gave her a piece of it. "But back to serious business. Elder Faeries banish Jinx because Jinx cause bad luck, bad luck bad for children and Elder Faeries no want children be hurt by Jinx." Kori noted thoughtfully and the pink haired Faerie nodded her head and brought her legs up to rest her chin on her knees.

"Yeah… my aunt Wanda tried to hide me and keep me with her and her host Timmy but the Elders just wouldn't have it… so they banished me from the village and here I am, lost in the forest, half starved of magic, and being captured to be a plaything to a bunch of fucking Gnomes!" Jinx complained loudly while narrowing her slitted eyes, Naruto frowning and raising a brow for a moment. He briefly wondered about this "Timmy" and the "Host" thing but he decided it'd be best to talk about that after Azula left with her father and he could do something about it.

"So what does any of that have to do with why she won't tell us which way the wolves went?" Azula questioned with a deep frown on her face and Jinx blinked before letting out a breath.

"I'm hungry, and I have no idea where any Dark Magic is out here… save for coming off your friend here. But if I absorb Magic off of a sentient being a bit of its life-force comes with it and I get bonded to them…" Jinx replied nervously and Kori nodded her head before smirking slightly to herself.

"Plus of merger is that The Jinx no longer have worry 'bout needing Dark Magic, when Faerie bond, they absorb Magic off Host." Kori noted aloud and Jinx inclined her head, already well aware of that before Kara shot out of Naruto's hood with a glare.

"No way! There is no way we're bringing her!" Kara growled out and Naruto plucked her out of the air and gave her a flat look.

"Kara-Chan, chill out, Jinx needs Dark Magic to live, I don't want her to die, and besides, it's not like you have to like her." Naruto reminded and Kara merely turned her head and glared at Jinx once more, the pinkette shooting an equally hatefully look right back at The Shadow-Unseelie. Letting out a breath, Azula then tapped Naruto's shoulder, the blond shooting her a look as she crossed her arms.

"Lets just get on with this so we can go after that brat already." Azula grumbled and Naruto nodded his head before holding out his free hand to Jinx. The pink-haired pixie flew into his hand and shifted somewhat nervously while he raised her up enough to face her while Kara continued to grumble to herself.

"You know you could just tell us and we'll go on our way…" He reminded her and Jinx nodded her head before letting out a breath of air.

"Maybe, but it's not like I want to be alone…" She mumbled before taking in a breath, a brief bit of dark purple mana flying from Naruto's body and into the little Faerie, who started to sway before falling on her ass. "Wow… what a rush!" She declared with a goofy grin on her face, Naruto rolling his eyes.

"The wolves?" He questioned of the Faerie and she nodded her head.

"The Gnomes hid from them but they went that way…" She responded and Naruto nodded before rushing in the direction of the wolves, Azula quickly following after him as he did so…

(Konoha…)

Haruno Ayane scowled, as she wandered to the outermost wall of the village of Konohagakure no Sato. She was attempting to find a place that she could move her workplace too, a place that would be more easily defended than the one at her home. This was because of the pesky little Goblin named Zim invading her home several times in only the past few days in an attempt to get some of her puppets. _'I already threw one at his head, why does he need more of them?'_ She briefly wondered with a mental scowl, as she'd also taken out much of this annoyance out on Sakura over the passed few days, merely because she was available to her.

One might notice that Ayane did take a little after Sakura, what with being so willing to inflict bodily harm on someone when she was annoyed. However she rarely let this urge go beyond merely having her puppets torment her sister, and tried to use her actual physical prowess as little as possible, as she was clearly much smaller and weaker than her sister… for now… However, Ayane was training to fix this, and with Sakrua always dieting and such, her older sister was becoming weaker even faster and she'd soon be able to outmatch her sister in the physical department. However that was a mere wandering thought, and she needed to stay focused, thus shook her head with a frown.

Her goal was to find a new place, and finding one in one of the older sections of Konoha was preferable as they were rarely still in use or checked up on. This meant that there would be little chance for her or her puppets to be discovered, though she doubted that anyone would care about them even if they found them. _**"Well unless they wanted your puppets for their own…"**_ Foxx's voice suddenly noted and Ayane glared down at the "Fox-Plush" with a frown on her face. That had been happening more often recently, and it seemed that it was going to happen more and more the longer that Zim remained in town, as he seemed like some kind of catalyst for insanity.

"Shut up, Foxx." Ayane growled at the doll before bringing a book up and glancing at it every now and then while keeping a lookout for a useful building that she could use. However she then scowled upon seeing that Ninja were surveying the older areas of the village now, and that several buildings were being demolished. _'Great, they must be planning on rebuilding them to expand the village, why leave a bunch of old rotting buildings when they can make new ones…'_ Ayane mentally grumbled before stopping as she noticed two street numbers that didn't make since. One was 776 and the other was 778. Looking to the opposite side of the street, Ayane frowned when she didn't see 777 there and then reached up and rubbed her chin.

'_I wonder…'_ She inwardly thought while making her way between the two buildings and found herself wandering into a thick forest. Moving through brush and vines the indigo haired girl soon came to an old run down shack of a square / rectangular house, the numbers 777 carved into an old door, the windows were broken, the grass around it was dead, and an old faded sign rested outside of it. "Perfect." Ayane decided with a smirk as she walked to the old house, then lightly knocked on the door, only for it to fall inwards when she did so. Blinking for only a moment, the girl then walked inside into an old living room and noticed that it was all but consumed in cobwebs, spiders quickly scurrying away at her intrusion.

The floor creaked as she walked inside, the sound echoing in the building, moving the webs out of her way, Ayane walked into an old living-room. The floor broke briefly under her weight and Ayane stopped just long enough to pull her foot back out. Looking around, Ayane wasn't surprised to find the place was abandoned, but she was surprised to see what looked like a rabbits skeleton nailed to a wall, hanging on by it's rib-cage while its skull laid to the side, and a noose hanging from the ceiling. Grunge and grime had stained the walls, and dust covered everything else. There was a stench to the room, one that smelled like, well, _**death**_. "Neat." She mused and then walked over to an old couch and kicked it, dust flying out of it and making her wave a hand before herself.

"This place has been empty for a seriously long time…" She mumbled to herself then walked over to an old desk and tapped it, the desk falling in on itself as she shook her head. Deciding that she'd need to redecorate, Ayane then looked around before she walked into an old kitchen and was surprised to see a rather old looking refrigerator. _'Maybe not as old as I thought…'_ She mused to herself and then walked further to find a sitting room, an old bloodstain in the middle. Continuing her search, Ayane found a bedroom that looked as if it'd never been used with a large desk with a broken mirror behind it. _'Someone broke that… but why?'_ She briefly wondered before ignoring it and exploring a few new rooms.

However some of _**those**_ rooms had chains hanging from the walls, straps from the ceiling and vice-versa. One even had a bunch of dolls with maggots and rotting things inside them, another had a bunch of dolls nailed to the walls or hung from the ceiling… all and all it was pretty damn insane. _'Could use a little work, but it has potential.'_ Ayane mentally decided as she continued to walk around the strange old home, barely affected by the insanity around her. Walking over to a doorway leading down into an incredibly deep basement, Ayane opened the door and looked to the darkness below for a moment. Making her way down into the basement, the girl noticed even more spiders and stopped when she ran out of light.

"I'll need a lamp or something if I want to explore some more…" She decided while turning around and making her way back up the stairs. Soon walking out into the Living Room, the girl glanced around and nodded her head. "This will do." She decided before walking out of the old house, then turned and stared at the numbers carved into the door for a few moments with a frown. "Seven Seven Seven… isn't that the number of heaven?" She mumbled to herself and then hummed lightly as she turned to return to the village and gather what she'd need to fully explore the strange house. However as she made her way back to Konoha she was suddenly grabbed by mechanical arms and lifted up into the air to see Zim's grinning face.

"HA! I've got you now you foolish little human pig-smelly thing!" The Goblin declared and Ayane wondered where that had come from for only a moment before he turned her upside down. "Do you feel the blood rushing to your puny Human head? Do you?" Zim demanded with a grin while Ayane merely gave him a flat look in response. "Well it doesn't matter, I know you do, and the only way for you to free yourself is to tell me the secret of your damnable technology! How does it move without a power source? Tell me! You will tell Zim the secret!" The Tiny-Terror snarled at the indigo haired girl who just gave him a flat look while still hanging upside down.

"Put, me, down…" She stated darkly and yet Zim merely stuck out his tongue at her before grabbing Foxx from her hip. Ayane's eyes flared when he did and started to shake the fox-plush around with an annoyed look.

"Why do you carry a silly little doll around with you… eh?" He wondered before then opening Foxx's mouth and found a tiny little gun inside of it. "Oho! So it's one of your strange technological devices then! Even better! After I take this thing apart I'll finally have the secret of your technology for my own!" Zim declared before laughing loudly in glee, the indigo haired girl scowling as she tried to move one of her hands. However the large mechanical arms holding her kept her hands to her sides, yet that didn't deter the girl who looked up, down in her perspective, and started to wiggle her toes, thankful that like her sister and most others she wore Sandals, then created a few Chakra-Strings from them that latched onto Foxx.

Ayane noticed that while she could create the strings with her toes, that it felt a bit harder than normal. _'I should practice doing this some-time…'_ She decided while Foxx started to twitch for a bit, before lunging at Zim and biting into his neck with its sharp metal teeth. The Tiny-Terror gave a cry of pain while dropping Ayane, the Indigo haired girl grunting at the landing before rolling into a crouch and taking control of Foxx with her fingers rather than her toes. The said Fox-Plush started to claw at Zim with its sharp limbs, the Tiny-Terror running around screaming as it did. "It wants Zim's brain!" He declared loudly and Ayane frowned before shaking her head.

"Even if he did, he'd starve if he tried to eat yours…" She noted aloud while Zim ran into a tree and fell over, his tongue lolling out to one side. Maneuvering Foxx back over to herself, Ayane then knelt down and picked her most cherished puppet back up before attaching it to her side. Walking over to where Zim was laying on the ground unconscious, Ayane briefly contemplated killing him before merely kicking him with an annoyed frown. "Idiot…" She muttered while walking away, back through the thick brush and forest so she could return home and get some things to explore the strange building that she'd found out in the woods…

(Forest…)

Naruto and his current entourage looked around as they passed by broken tree branches and other such signs that The Wolves had been by. Making their way through the forest, the group soon came to a large clearing in front of a cave, the wolves snarling as they approached. _"Master! Look a Mana-Pillar!"_ Gnarl declared while Naruto narrowed his eyes seeing the strange boy from before sitting atop The Mana-Pillar the glowing marks on his body glowing brighter and brighter as he did. Raising a brow, Naruto took a brief step back and crouched into a stance, the young Archon soon standing atop the pillar and looking at them with glowing eyes.

'_Gnarl, what is he doing?'_ Naruto questioned of his Minion-Master and heard the old gray grimace.

"_Well Sire, as I've said you and The Archons are distant relatives… unfortunately this means than an Archon can utilize Tower-Objects. This means that… well… he's absorbing Mana from that pillar to restore his reserves!"_ Gnarl said just as a burst of magic seemed to expand from the boy who then cracked his neck and held both of his hands into the air. His wolves quickly retreated, all of them lunging back into the cave to hide as the battle was about to begin.

"What's the Gaki doing?" Azula questioned of Naruto, the blond widening his eyes as the youth then started to form a fireball above himself. However those he'd made earlier, this fireball was easily several times the youth's size and diameter.

"That answer your question?" Naruto asked with wide eyes while Azula gaped in shock before the youth slammed the fireball into the ground. Instantly a ring of fire shot up around the youth, instantly melting the snow, before jetting outwards towards Naruto and the young Princess of Hi-no-Kuni. Cursing under his breath, Naruto grabbed Azula around the waist before jumping up into a tree and then kicking out of it as it was set ablaze, leaving a large ring of barren land once the flames finally stopped… the Minions screaming as they ran around while on fire. Looking back to the youth, Naruto frowned deeply while the boy waved his arms forward, a high-pitched whistle echoing out as his wolves lunged forward from the cave.

Releasing Azula, Naruto then swept his Minions into the oncoming wolves, mentally grimacing as they proved little match for them in their current state of being. _'Wonderful, my Minions are getting eaten alive and I'm fighting a kid who's absorbed a ton of Mana from my own object!'_ Naruto mentally grumbled before crouching then lunging forward, twisting around the wolves while forming lightning into his right hand. Swinging his arm, Naruto unleashed a lightning whip on several of the wolves in front of him and jumped at the young Spell-Caster. However he merely formed a force-push spell and sent Naruto flying back, to skid to Azula's feet, the said girl looking at him with amusement in her golden eyes.

"Seems like you need a little help." Azula noted with a smirk and Naruto merely glared at her before rolling back to his feet then watched as the strange young man started to form another spell. _'This is ridiculous! How the hell do I stop this kid when he has access to a Mana Pillar? Urgh, if I didn't have the devils luck I swear that I'd… wait… Luck… Bad-Luck… Jinx!'_ Naruto then realized while mentally grinning at the idea of having the youth's own spells backfire on him.

"Jinx!" He croaked out and the tiny Faerie stuck her head out to see what was happening then widened her eyes. "Cast… a curse… a hex… something…" Naruto continued to croak out before coughing heavily and the pink haired Faerie silently nodded her head before flying from his hood and into the air. Grinning cheekily the tiny pinkette then pointed her pointer fingers towards the hooded youth.

"Bang Bang!" She said humorously before shots of pink energy shot at the youth, causing him to give a confused look at them. However that ceased when the ground shuttered, the boy tripping and falling over, accidentally sending his spell up into the air. The spell then exploded in midair, causing dozens of swords to fall from the air on top of The Youth and the wolves closest to him. Widening his eyes, the youth spun his arms and formed a shield with Force-Push, the swords pelting the ground regardless as he barely managed to keep the shield up. Looking at his fallen pets with wide eyes, the youth then formed a ball of fire and sent it flying at Jinx. Moving out of the way, the pink-pixie then huffed and formed some pink energy over her hands.

"Alright now I'm really mad! Nobody throws fireballs at me and gets away with it!" The Pink-Haired-Faerie growled out before swinging her arms and sending a large arc of hex-energy towards the youth. The energy caused everything in its path to be stricken, the wolves seemed to fall over onto the Minions' weapons, killing both the wolves and minions at the same time while the youth stumbled as the ground started to shake. Any nearby plant life was set on fire and finally the earth beneath the youth cracked open and nearly swallowed him. Hanging on for dear life, the youth quickly threw himself out of the pit with Force-Push before then twisting and hurling a mass of swords at them from the air.

"I think you pissed him off…" Azula noted as Naruto grabbed her around the waist and then grabbed Jinx before then rolling back and out of the way of the blades that imbedded themselves in the ground. Coming out of the roll and releasing Azula the blond then tried to form a bit of Shadow-Matter, but it all faded out in the light. _'Crap, my Shadow-Magic doesn't work in daylight? Man that's limited!'_ The blond thought to himself while releasing Jinx who took a deep breath, Azula scowling as she gave Naruto an annoyed glare. "Stop picking me up like that!" She growled at the boy and he ignored her before crouching down, and then quickly lunged at The Hooded Youth, Jinx grabbing his scarf to follow before scurrying into his hood.

Seeing the young Overlord heading his way, the boy swirled his hands before bringing them down on the ground, light building up under Naruto's feet. Seeing the light the blond cursed and rolled out of the way of an enormous sword of light ripping its way out of the ground where he'd just been. Seeing more light gathering beneath himself, Naruto cursed and lunged out of the way, muttering curses under his breath the blond then turned on his heel and lunged at The Hooded Youth. However the Hooded youth then shot several fireballs at the young-Overlord, Naruto mentally growling as he dodged and weaved around them before jumping away from another sword.

Landing on the youth for but a moment, Naruto then kicked off of him with a smirk as light gathered under him. Blinking for a moment, the Hooded Youth's eyes widened in shock before swirling his arms and forming a shield just as the next light-sword ripped through the ground and sent him flying high into the air. Seeing this caused Azula to smirk as she ran forward and twisted into an upward kick, sending a jet of fire at the boy that knocked his glowing bubble of magic to be sent towards the rocks of the nearby cave. Widening his eyes once more, the youth dismissed his shield and used Force-Push to launch himself at Azula.

Seeing him coming, the young Princess easily dodged him and then kneed him in the gut before bringing her elbow down on his back. The Hooded Youth was slammed into the ground where he let out a noise of pain before rolling out of the way as Azula stomped into the ground. Flipping out of his roll, the youth started to pant heavily, his low stamina getting the better of him once more. Looking around and seeing that he was most definitely at a disadvantage, the youth then let out a high-pitched whistle before bringing his glowing hands into the ground. Raising a brow, Naruto then gaped as a pair of pure white wolves suddenly formed and howled at the youth's sides…

'_Gnarl… what the hell is that?'_ Naruto questioned while pulling his Tanto free, sure he'd need those against the hungry looking wolves.

"_Oh my… he just summoned two Forest-Spirits sire, they aren't known to make pacts with summoners often so this is very impressive."_ Gnarl replied before they watched as the Hooded Youth swept his arms towards them and the two wolves lunged forward with snarls. Trails of Mana followed behind the spirit wolves as they then broke from one another and went towards either Azula or Naruto. Cursing low in his throat, Naruto formed a Lightning-Whip into his hand and swung it at the wolf that came at him, only it quickly evaded it and then jumped on top of him. Grunting Naruto raised one of his arms and then nearly balked as his scaled right forearm, uncovered by a Gauntlet, _**still**_ managed to keep the wolf from piercing his skin.

'_Un-Holy Shit! Gnar, just how strong are my scales?'_ Naruto inwardly demanded while moving his legs up and kicked the annoying wolf off of himself.

"_Dragon Scales are one of the hardest substances in the world sire. When you reach full maturity you'll be able to resist all but the sharpest of swords fairly easily."_ Gnarl replied while Naruto jumped out of the way as the wolf tried to lunge at him. Narrowing his eyes, the blond haired Overlord-in-Training circled around the wolf as it gave a low snarl while glaring at him.

'_Full maturity… you mean these are like… what… baby scales or something?'_ The blond haired youth questioned while The Wolf lunged at him and he jumped onto its back and gripped its fur.

"_Not exactly, sire. They aren't "Baby-Scales", they are just immature, adult Dragon Scales are a bit more spiky at times… then again, you are an Abyss Dragon and their scales are notably different to others."_ Gnarl replied and Naruto decided to ignore him as he held onto the back of the wolf and glanced over at Azula. The Princess of Hi-No-Kuni was holding her own, twisting and dodging the gaping jaws of the other Spirit Wolf before twisting into a flaming kick that knocked the wolf back. Jumping up and raising her leg, the girl then moved into a flip, bringing a long arc of fire down on top of the Spirit-Wolf. Mentally blinking as the girl was just fine, Naruto then reached for one of his Tanto while holding onto the bucking Spirit-Wolf.

Twisting his Tanto around, the blond haired youth then stabbed it up into the wolves throat causing it to cry out before falling to the ground. Instantly both Spirit-Wolves vanished in a shower of sparks, Naruto growling as he then turned to glare at the Hooded Youth, while Azula brushed herself off with a frown. Widening his eyes, the hooded youth backed away before tossing several fireballs at the two. However Azula twisted into several stances, catching the flames and then redirecting them away from them. Narrowing his eyes, Naruto approached the youth who sent out one of his blasts of Force-Push, only for the young Overlord-In-Training to duck out of the way before lunging at him.

Quickly approaching the hooded youth the Overlord-in-Training then grabbed the youth by the scruff of his cloak. "Alright pipsqueak, time for lights out!" The blond growled out gruffly before rearing the youth back and then slamming him into the ground, knocking the air out of the boy who started to cough heavily. Not finished with him, Naruto then dug his heel into the ground before lunging at a tree and grabbing boy's head, ramming into the tree and instantly knocking him unconscious. _'Glad that's finally over.'_ Naruto thought to himself before dropping the Hooded-Youth back to the ground and then stretched his arms out for a moment.

"Well that was certainly entertaining… but what are you going to do with him now?" Azula questioned of Naruto and the blond haired youth frowned, considering just carrying him, but then clicked his tongue as he looked over to the Mana-Pillar.

"_Master, I'm having some Minions rendezvous with you, they should arrive at any moment."_ Gnarl sent to the blond haired Overlord In Training who merely looked back to Azula and rose to his feet.

"I'm sending him home…" The blond rasped out before clutching at his exceedingly sore throat with a deep frown.

"Really? And how are you going to do that?" Azula questioned and Naruto coughed as his throat felt unnaturally sore. Raising a brow, Azula actually thought back and realized that the blond had had spoken as little as possible over their trip before making an assumption as to the cause. "Sore throat?" The girl questioned and Naruto silently nodded his head, causing her to sigh. Thankful that she dropped it, Naruto then grunted as he rubbed at his throat for a moment longer and closed his eyes.

'_When is this gonna clear up Gnarl?'_ The blond mentally demanded of his Minion-Master and the old Grey hummed for a moment before replying.

"_As I've said before, I'm not sure, most Overlords didn't have a Breath Weapon like you Sire so it's un-telling when that'll clear up."_ Gnarl replied and Naruto blinked for a moment, wondering about the "Breath Weapon" thing.

'_Breath Weapon?'_ Naruto questioned and Gnarl let out a slight sigh.

"_Aye, a Breath Weapon, you know like how most Dragons breath out fire, Abyss Dragons can breath a gaseous cloud of Poisonous or Acidic Vapor… Your throat is like it is because yours is developing. However as I said this isn't common among Overlords, Sire. I'd say your one of, if not the only one, to actually develop a Dragonic Breath Weapon in your humanoid form. "_ Gnarl responded and Naruto mentally widened his eyes before rubbing at his throat with a grimace.

'_The first… wow… but why does it feel so damn uncomfortable?'_ The blond haired Overlord in Training wondered to himself before looking over to the side as a squad of Brown Minions made their way over to him and Azula.

"Master! We's here ta help!" The first of them said with a grin and Naruto nodded before sweeping them to the Mana-Pillar, three of them picking it up, before he then swept one of them over to Will. The Minions quickly picked up their assigned load before then marching off into the forest while the rest stayed with the blond haired Overlord and Azula.

"Alright, that explains about them, but now what?" Azula questioned and Naruto gave her a flat look.

"Back… to… your… father…" Naruto croaked out before coughing lightly and Azula let out a breath.

"Do I really have too?" She questioned and Naruto silently nodded his head with a pointed look at the girl. "Fine then, lets go…" She grumbled with a pout and Naruto let out a grunt before walking off in the direction that her father would be in. "Though, I have to admit this was pretty fun." Azula noted while following after the young Overlord. "Think we could do it again some time?" She questioned with a smirk and Naruto rolled his eyes before giving her a pointed look. "Oh fine, spoil my fun." She mumbled while they continued on their trek, Jinx flying out of the blond haired Overlord-in-Training's hood to look around.

"Hey, my aunt Wanda lives near here…" She noted, causing Naruto to look at her with a raised brow.

"Really… where?" Naruto croaked out and Jinx hummed for a moment before flying up and taking a look around. Soon spotting the settlement where her aunt lived, the tiny Faerie then flew back to Naruto's shoulder before looking at Azula. Getting the message, Naruto left that alone before clearing his throat. "Anything… special… bout… it?" Naruto questioned of the pink haired Faerie and she nodded her head with a wide grin on her face.

"Yeah, almost everyone there can use Magic since they came here from Thedas and a bunch of other outside nations. Danny and Timmy, who Aunt-Wanda live with, said that they were getting away from something called Dark-Spawn. Oh, and there's the ruins of this weird spiky tower near the settlement too…" Jinx explained thoughtfully though the last bit caused Naruto to come to a complete stop his eyes widening as that could only be one thing.

"The Dark Tower…" Naruto croaked out and Azula stopped to stay at the blond haired youth for a moment.

"What, is something wrong with you?" She questioned and Naruto shook his head before quickly hurrying forward. Looking to Jinx and nudging his head, the blond watched her fly back into his hood and could swear her heard her trading insults with Kara again… _'As long as another cat-fight doesn't break out, I'm fine with it…'_ Naruto mentally decided while he could practically feel Gnarl gaping at his end of their link.

"_It can't be… but wait; your general location __**is**__ close to where Spree and The Plague Lands were… so it is… It is The Dark Tower! Sire! Jinx can lead you to The Dark Tower! We'll need a Crane and materials but then we can finally rebuild our home! Oh to be home again, to have a proper evil domicile and a place for us to go to between missions… ahh… I'm homesick already…"_ Gnarl stated with a surprising amount of enthusiasm Naruto shaking his head before rubbing at his chin.

'_And couldn't we also use that Human settlement, Gnarl?'_ Naruto questioned of Gnarl, the old Minion-Master blinking on his end.

"_How do you mean? There a bunch of humans…"_ Gnarl reminded him and Naruto rolled his eyes.

'_They have Magic Gnarl, we could have them train or set up our own academy there or something, so we could have Ninja who use Magic rather than Jutsu. Er… right?'_ Naruto questioned as he was still somewhat new to the whole Overlord thing, though he felt a bit smarter for some reason. _'Probably has to do with that Mana-Pillar, did they actually get it back over there yet?'_ Naruto questioned of Gnarl and the old Gray hummed for a moment before answering.

"_Actually no Sire, but you'll definitely notice when they do. And as for you idea I suppose that could work… but still, why would we want to both to waste that kind of time on a bunch of Humans?"_ Gnarl questioned and Naruto crossed his arms as he and Azula kept heading to where her father had been earlier.

'_Well besides having several human warriors who could interact with the outside world… we could also use the settlement as a town of trade, you know, have them sell things to the outside world so we could buy supplies and materials to actually rebuild the Dark Tower.'_ Naruto replied and Gnarl hummed for a moment longer while contemplating his master's idea for a moment.

"_That might work… yes, that could work to our advantage. With human allies to interact with the Elemental Nations, our more monstrous warriors wouldn't have to expose themselves prematurely. And you are right about needing Materials, so it seems that I have to concede your point, excellent Idea sire."_ Gnarl stated while the young Overlord-in-Training couldn't help but feel proud of himself. _"However I'm afraid that the Naga-Queen wishes to meet with you, not to mention Kori's sister Queen Koma of the Metal Unseelie as well… oh, and Miyuki has brought a batch of girls from up top for you to meet, as well as some treasure from a batch of bandits."_ Gnarl noted and Naruto blinked for a moment before frowning when he heard Metal instead of Flame Unseelie.

'_Girls… What girls?'_ Naruto questioned of The Minion-Master and Gnarl chuckled nervously to himself for a moment.

"_Forgive me sire, but Shin contacted me with some information on a group of Bandits up top. He said they had a group of Slave Girls and what looked like some treasure with them. So I gave him the order to do what he wished with the situation and he had a batch of Goblins go up top, capture the girls, kill the bandits, and make off with their treasure. And as I said before they are waiting for you here with The Naga."_ Gnarl explained and Naruto hummed lightly, briefly wondering how Gnarl and the others had gotten to The Naga's, and then remembered that Gnarl said he'd make a waypoint Gate to get to the Naga once the Overlord-Heart was taken there.

'_Now you mentioned Kori's sister is somehow a Metal Unseelie… but could you tell me how Kori is related to a Metal one rather than Flame?'_ The blond haired youth questioned and Gnarl let out a light sigh.

"_Some Flame Unseelie are born without the ability to generate fire, these Unseelie are bathed in molten metal, which changes them from Flame Unseelie, into Metal Unseelie. Metal Unseelie are excellent metalworkers, capable of crafting armor, weapons, and jewelry of excellent make and quality. They are also extremely durable, able to take twenty times more punishment than an average faerie, and perfect for Hand-to-Hand combat. However as a tradeoff they are without a long distance attack, thus in order to be fully effective in battle has to grow to a more human size."_ Gnarl explained to the blond haired Overlord-in-Training, and Naruto blinked before mentally sighing.

'_So I'm getting yet another Familiar then?'_ Naruto questioned with a flat tone and Gnarl chuckled lightly for a moment.

"_Looks like it sire, but honestly, it's not that bad, after all… you have a batch of very vivacious little Faeries to keep you company on long journeys!"_ Gnarl noted with a perverted sounding giggle and Naruto shook his head with a frown.

'_Yeah I guess… but my hood is gonna be really crowded at this rate…'_ Naruto noted with a frown and Gnarl scoffed before snickering to himself.

"_Don't worry Sire, I'll find a Faerie Satchel for you, and before you ask, it's basically a pouch for your faeries to ride inside of. It's actually quite convenient and comfortable for them, it's bigger inside of it than it is outside, not to mention that even if it's compressed nothing inside will be harmed, and it'll also allow you to carry normally large objects in it."_ Gnarl offered and Naruto wondered why he'd never heard of such a useful sounding pouch before, and then remembered that it was probably made with Magic rather than Chakra.

'_Oi, while I'll admit Ninja have a hell of a lot more attacks, Magic has us beat when it comes to versatility, they have a spell or enchantment for just about everything! And unlike seals, you don't have to waist time drawing a seal on paper, you just stick it in and it's good to go.'_ Naruto noted to himself with a shake of his head as he and Azula continued forward, only to notice a familiar carriage approaching them. Naruto's minions immediately dispersing into the forest to keep out of sight, more on instinct than on order from the blond Overlord.

"Hmm, looks like Father was getting impatient." Azula noted and Naruto rolled his eyes before stopping and swaying for a moment, the Princess looking to him as he did. She then widened her eyes as the blond haired youth began to glow bright blue, only for it to die down and be replaced by lightly glowing blue markings across his skin and scales. _'What was that?'_ Azula wondered to herself before shaking her head and walking towards her family's carriage as her father, mother, and brother got out. The group walked over to the two, Azula's brother instantly rushing to his sister to check on her while her father approached Naruto.

"Ah, we were beginning to grow worried about you, Overlord-San. I hope little Azula didn't cause you too much trouble…" Ozai noted while looking to his daughter and she gave a bow to her father before standing back up and ignoring her brother.

"I am fine father, and we didn't get into much trouble, Overlord-San is a surprisingly competent combatant." Azula noted with an amused look being sent to the said blond, Naruto crossing his arms when she did. "However we discovered some disturbing news…" Azula added as she reached into her clothes and removed the scroll they found on the bandit earlier. Handing it to her father, Azula watched the man unroll it before scanning its contents with a deep frown crossing his features as he did. As they did that, Ozai's son, a young man with his hair pulled into a topknot dressed similarly to Azula walked to Naruto and gave a curt bow.

"Thank you for protecting my Sister, Overlord-San." The teen offered and the girl huffed while shooting her brother a rather scathing look.

"Oh quiet Zu-Zu, I was fine before Overlord-San came, those bandits were actually running from me!" Azula boasted with a smirk and the boy twitched while glaring at the girl angrily.

"My name is Zuko! Not Zu-Zu!" He stated while walking over to the girl, both glaring at one another while Naruto shook his head and looked to Ozai. The said man was gripping the scroll in his hands tightly, doing all he could to suppress a snarl as he then took a deep breath and looked to Naruto.

"It seems I can't even trust my fathers court anymore… regardless, Overlord-San, I thank you for your assistance. Would it be too much trouble to know how I might reach you should I need your aide again?" Ozai questioned and Naruto blinked while frowning in thought on how that could work. _'I could send a Minion with him… but that might not be the best idea, especially if he's the type who hates anything not human…'_ Naruto thought to himself, as he'd had more than his fair share of those types back in Konoha.

"_Sire, listen! I'll send you a warning stone, it's essentially a small communication device used for distress messages in war. The Prince there can use it to contact us when he needs out help. Just tell him to whisper the word 'Overlord' into it and that you'll be there to see him within a day of doing so."_ Gnarl offered while Naruto felt a stone form in his palm and looked down to see a black stone with a red and violet swirl of energy within it in his hand.

'_How did you do that Gnarl?'_ Naruto questioned while looking at the stone and Gnarl chuckled lightly.

"_Sire I told you your Overlord-Gems are like miniature Tower-Gates, they allow me to send small things like that Warning Stone to you no matter where you are. It's also handy for sending potions and the like."_ Gnarl explained and Naruto slowly nodded his head before holding the stone out to Ozai, the man taking it and looking to Naruto with a raised brow. Inwardly he was intrigued with the stone, wondering about the visible energy inside of it, and since he'd given it to him, he assumed it was for getting in touch with him in the future.

"Speak Overlord… into stone… I'll… be there… within a day." Naruto explained before grasping his throat and Ozai looked to his daughter for an explanation to why the young Overlord-in-Training was speaking as he was.

"His throat is sore Father, seems he might've caught something while we were out here." Azula offered in explanation and Ozai hummed lightly before placing the Warning Stone into his robes and crossing his arms within his sleeves.

"I see, would you require a ride then Overlord-San? Perhaps I can be of some assistance to you for you aide…" Ozai offered and Naruto shook his head, then rubbed his throat for a moment. Humming lightly once more, the Prince of Hi-no-Kuni then walked over to his carriage before looking back to the Blond haired Overlord-in-Training. "In any case, safe journey my young friend, I have a feeling we'll be seeing one another again in the future." Ozai noted and Naruto silently nodded his head before making his way into the forest to find his Minions and then head to a Waypoint Gate.

However as he left, Ozai motioned for his family to enter into their carriage and as they sat down, the Prince of Hi-no-Kuni looked to his daughter sternly. "Azula, Did you learn anything about this young Overlord?" The man questioned of his daughter, Azula smirking to herself as she nodded her head.

"He claims to use "Magic" instead of Jutsu, and from what I could tell he wasn't lying either. He controls fire with a "magical" gauntlet, controls lightning on his own, and his physical endurance and stamina are beyond belief. He also had full control of a troop of Amanojaku who did whatever he ordered without him actually having to speak. And he seems to have pure silver white scales like a Hakuryuu (White Dragon) not to mention a pack of Yousei are living in his hood." Azula explained to her father and the man raised a brow before rubbing his chin, Zuko snorting and looking at their father with an incredulous expression.

"You can't be taking this seriously father, Amanojaku and Yousei are nothing but a bunch of old wives tales. And as for the scales, maybe those were a Kekkei-Genkai or something." Zuko reminded the older man and yet Ozai frowned deeply before looking back to Azula.

"What of that boy who controlled the wolves that attacked the Bandits?" He asked and Azula frowned deeply.

"He's extremely powerful, able to shoot what I can only assume is raw "Magic" from his hands to, he can make shields, and I swear he was able to push himself into the air and practically fly, create swords out of light, and send massive fireballs or rings of fire from his body. Not only that but he was able to control the wolves by whistling, summon a pair of spirit wolves, and even stole The Overlord's fire producing Gauntlet to boost his powers. And yet Overlord-San still defeated him with minimal help from myself." Azula responded with a serious expression and Ozai once more frowned as Zuko snorted and shook his head, not believing any of this nonsense.

"And what happened to this boy exactly?" Ozai questioned and Azula yawned before crossing her arms behind her head.

"The Overlord had his Amanojaku grab him and take him to his home, as well as some weird artifact that the boy used to empower himself…" Azula replied and Ozai nodded his head slowly, he could understand not wanting "Magic" getting out to just anyone if what Azula was saying was true about it's abilities…

"It seems Overlord-San would make a very capable ally in a few years, wouldn't you say so Azula?" The Prince of Hi-no-Kuni questioned and Azula thought about it for a short while before nodding her head.

"At least he's not as weak as the other Daimyo, they all squirm whenever war is so much as mentioned." Azula grumbled and got a stern look from her father, causing her to sigh and close her eyes so she could rest a bit.

"Regardless, it seems that this attack on us proved more fortunate than problematic… after all, what are the odds we would've met Overlord-San otherwise. And I have a feeling that an alliance "The Overlord" will be a great boon to our nation _**and**_ our family." Ozai noted to himself while pulling the Warning Stone from his sleeves and looking at it intently, before glancing at his daughter and barely hid a smirk, while Zuko frowned as he saw the swirling mass of energy held within the stone…

(Konoha…)

Uchiha Sasuke was sitting on a dock with a frown and looking out to a lake, a million questions swirling about in his head. However all of these questions centered around the death of one Uzumaki Naruto, and why it seemed that no one was asking why someone would kill him. _'It's like no one even cares…'_ The young Uchiha noted to himself before closing his eyes and lacing his fingers together while thinking of what he knew thus far about his death. _'He burned to death after being chased by someone… yet no one tried to help him, there's no way no one heard him… so why didn't they help him when he needed it?'_ The young Uchiha heir wondered to himself before humming lightly and pushing himself up to his feet.

'_I need to know, what is it about Naruto that no one cares about his death save a scant few people?'_ Sasuke mentally questioned while crossing his arms and making his way into the village with a frown. Looking around, Sasuke noticed that many of the stores around Konoha were closing up, the budget cuts meant less merchandise, which also meant that smaller less popular businesses were going under more often. However Sasuke didn't really care about such things, and ignored them completely while making his way to the Grave-Yard and then over to the empty grave that was designated as belonging to Uzumaki Naruto, even though nothing was actually there.

However today a familiar girl in a baggy coat was sitting before the grave, Sasuke raising a brow when he saw her. _'She's the shy girl in class, now what was her name again? Hyuuga something… Hitomi? No… Hanabi? No… wait… Hinata… yeah, that's her.'_ The boy thought with a slight frown, as it was well known that their two clans had never really gotten along. Walking towards her, he saw her sitting with her legs pulled up to her chest, her chin on her knees, and her arms wrapped around her legs. She was staring intently at Naruto's grave-marker, and Sasuke couldn't help but feel somewhat uncomfortable as he stood next to her. "What are you doing out here?" Sasuke questioned bluntly, and then mentally smacked himself, he had more tact than that…

"I… I was j-just s-sitting here… I m-miss N-Naruto-Kun." The girl replied quietly while never looking away from the grave and Sasuke hunned lightly.

"Personally, I'm wondering something about The Dobe…" Sasuke noted and the normally shy girl suddenly sent a death-glare his way for the crack. "Anyways, I was wondering how no one was able to protect him, or why they wouldn't want too… it wreaks of something being kept from us." Sasuke noted aloud and Hinata blinked for a moment before considering his words.

"Y-Yes, b-but not even the AnBu c-can be e-everywhere." She responded and Sasuke slowly nodded his head, but his own family had been murdered on such a night, but Naruto was closer to the center of the village that the Uchiha Compound, it would've been easier for the AnBu to find and help him than it would to reach The Uchiha Compound. Not only that but one man had managed to kill Naruto, an enemy nin most likely, and yet security was so lax that no one had been able to stop him when he'd have to travel half-way across the village… there were so many holes in that idea that Sasuke knew that something fishy was going on.

"Maybe, but Naruto's place is pretty close to the inner ring of the city, isn't it weird that no one noticed someone attacking him there? Also, what assassin would risk his life to enter the village, and then attack Naruto, rather than go after one of us Clan-Heirs." Sasuke questioned and Hinata blinked before nodding her head in agreement. "Not only that, but why would someone attack Naruto at all, he's an orphan for one, he was living alone for another, and he clearly didn't have any Jutsu someone would want bad enough to kill him over…" Sasuke continued and Hinata had to agree that there was something fishy about all that, it didn't make much sense really…

"W-What do you th-think happened S-Sasuke-San?" Hinata questioned and Sasuke grunted and crossed his arms over his chest with a deep frown on his face.

"I don't know, and that's what's got me so pissed off. Something is going on here, and we're being kept in the dark about it. There was something about Naruto that was enough of a reason for an assassin to sneak into Konoha, find him, and then die to get rid of him. That generally means someone was very important to the village. What I want to know, is why, and if he was, why did no one try to help him that night." Sasuke stated while drumming his fingers into his bicep, Hinata blinking for a moment before poking her index fingers together as she thought it over.

"It r-really doesn't m-make sense… b-but perhaps the H-Hokage might kn-know." Hinata offered to the boy helpfully and Sasuke shook his head with his frown deepening.

"No… something tells me he's guarding this secret himself. If I want to know what's going on, I'm gonna have to find it myself. And I won't be able to go to any of the adults about it either." Sasuke noted to himself and Hinata bit her lower lip for a moment before quickly rising to her feet.

"I-I'll help. I w-wont to know too." Hinata stated and Sasuke considered it for a moment before nodding his head, figuring that her Byakugan would be useful for this kind of work.

"Fine, just don't get in the way." Sasuke responded while turning and walking out of the Graveyard, the timid Hyuuga close behind…

TBC…

AN: To those who want to know why Ayane is named that instead of Gaz, Gaz is short for Gazlene, which is supposed to be a play on Gasoline, which doesn't make sense in Japanese, but I couldn't think of a name for her that would be similar in that way in Japanese that wasn't too long. Instead, I gave her, her current name, which means "Design Sound", it's also supposed to be similar to Ayame, which means "Iris", because her hair is a dark shade of purple, but there is already an Ayame in Naruto so I went with the altered version. Another idea was to make her name "Ayameru" which means "To Wound / Murder" which is fitting given her personality, yet that one sounded a bit too boyish. Also, can anyone figure out where the building Ayane found is from?


	11. Naga

**Disclaimer**: I own anything within; this story is merely a way for me to alleviate boredom…

[Jinx: And we're back yet again!

Kara: Would you shut up and go away!

Jinx: Bite me Kara!

Kori: Friend Kara, why do you hate The Jinx so much? Is it her hair?

Kara: No…

Kori: Is it her eyes?

Kara: No…

Kori: Then what is it?

Koma: Who cares, start the fic so we can get on with the show!

Kori: Wha… Sister?]

_**NU**_: _**Dark Lord**_ +

_**Chapter 9**_: _**Naga**_…

"Normal Speech"…

'_Normal Thoughts_'…

[Radio/Tower Heart In Use]…

"**Jutsu In Use**"…

"**Demon Speech**"…

'_**Demon Thoughts**_'…

"_**Inner Spirit Speech**_"…

(Underworld…)

Naruto walked out of shower of sparks as the Waypoint Gate returned him to The Underworld. _'Wow… that's the only way to travel.'_ The blond thought to himself while looking around the blond haired Overlord-in-Training found himself in a large spacious room with a somehow royal feel to it with, having expensive looking rugs and carpets, drapes here and there, and a bed. Also in the room over to the side the three pillars made up by Health-Columns, Mana-Pillars, and Minion-Totems surround The Overlords Heart, as well as Gnarl's chair and the transport device to the other side.

"Welcome Master!" Gnarl declared and, Naruto turned to see him, and the rest of his entourage over to the side, along with a blue eyed female Goblin of great height, and a group of girls.

"Gnarl…" Naruto acknowledged gruffly before walking over to the Minion Master who grinned up at him. "Where… kid?" Naruto questioned of the old Minion Master while looking around and Gnarl stroked his goatee before replying.

"I had Shin and Espio take him off to see if he can actually talk or if his control of those wolves was all he could do." Gnarl replied and then motioned Naruto over to a table, and then motioned for Naruto to sit down, the blond doing so before spotting a tiny faerie sitting on the table. "Oh and before I forget, this lovely little specimen here is Queen Koma of the Metal-Unseelie Sire." Gnarl offered with a wave while Naruto leaned down to get a better look at the Unseelie as she lounged in midair. She had light orange skin identical to Kori, with somewhat slanted blue-violet eyes, her long black hair was in the same style as Kori's, black lips, and was wearing an M shaped crown of some sort, and a long black cloak / cape with white fur around the trim that hid the rest of her form.

"So this is The Overlord then?" The tiny Unseelie questioned before flying up with a curious look on her face, on hand rubbing her chin. "Not all that impressive really." She mumbled mostly to herself, though still causing Naruto to glare at her for the jab. Not a second later a familiar red haired blur shot out of Naruto's hood, then scooped the metal-unseelie into a hug and spun her around in place.

"Sister Koma! Kori is most mirthful to see you once more!" The Flame Unseelie queen declared and a rather evil look crossed Koma's features as she hugged her sister back, causing her to grimace. "Ouch! Sister Koma! Kori thinks you are forgetting your strength again!" The red head declared and Koma released her while Kara and Jinx flew from Naruto's hood over to the other Faerie.

"My oh my he does get around…" Koma noted while smirking towards Kara, who was looking more annoyed than usual. "Kara, my what's actually gotten under your skin?" Koma questioned of the other Queen and Kara grunted to herself before looking away from the Metal-Unseelie. Kori then decided to enlighten her older sister and quickly flew up to her side while gazing towards Jinx as she hovered nearby.

"Our master has obtained a Dark-Magic Addicted Faerie as a familiar named Jinx, Kara and The Jinx do not seem to get along at all." Kori explained and Koma raised a brow for a moment before smirking over at the pink haired Faerie.

"Looks like I owe you some congratulations Pinky." The Metal-Unseelie declared and Jinx blinked for a moment before scratching her head.

"You do?" Jinx questioned and Koma nodded her head with an amused smirk.

"Yep, you've done what even I never could. You've actually managed to get under Kara's skin!" Koma explained and the said Shadow-Unseelie sent an annoyed glare towards the older Faerie. Rolling her eyes Jinx then crossed her arms while shooting the metallic Unseelie a flat look.

"Oh boy I'm so happy… my life's goal has been achieved." She noted sarcastically and Koma chuckled lightly while flying over to the pinkette.

"You and me are going to get along just fine…" She noted with a nod of her head and then turned to look at Naruto who was staring at them.

"Do… all… Unseelie Queens… have a K… in their name?" The blond questioned with a raised brow, the three queens with him just shrugging their shoulders while Jinx gaped at them.

"You're all queens!" She demanded with wide eyes and Kori and Koma nodded their heads, Kara smirking towards her.

"Yes, myself included." The Shadow-Unseelie noted and Jinx twitched while biting back an insult to throw at the other Faerie.

"Oh enough of you two and your petty pointless squabbles!" Koma stated and got a look from the two, pretty much promising her some pain in the near future.

"What… do you want?" The blond croaked out and Koma rolled her eyes before floating forward, arms crossed and an arrogant smirk on her lips.

"It's not what _**I**_ want… it's what I can do for _**you**_." The Metal-Unseelie replied and then lifted a hand and gazed at the metallic talons that were formed over her fingers. "I am queen of the Metal-Unseelie, we are by far and wide the most physically able of all of the Unseelie tribes…" Koma started to explain only for Kara to snort and then shoot her an annoyed look.

"As well as the most magically disabled of us all…" She noted aloud and got a glare from Koma, Jinx snickering to herself while Kori palmed her face. _'Why is it that Koma and Kara have never gotten along?'_ The redhead wondered to herself silently while Koma turned back to Naruto with a huff.

"Regardless, we're tough and strong and you could use our expertise in metal working and enchantment to great effect on your quest to rebuild The Dark Alliance." Koma continued to explain and Naruto placed his elbow on the table and leaned his cheek into his fist while gazing at the Unseelie queen. "Besides, you have a pack of Faeries with you already, it'd be an insult to my people for the next Overlord to have every kind of Unseelie, _**except**_ for our kind, among his familiars." Koma finished and Naruto rolled his eyes before holding out a hand for Koma, the queen flying down to stand on his palm.

"Your… very… sure of yourself…" Naruto managed to croak out and Koma couldn't hold back the smirk that crossed her lips.

"What can I say, I know what I want, and I rarely let anything stand in my way." Koma stated with amusement and Kori flew up and nodded her head with a slight frown on her face.

"Indeed, she once stole a Moon-Diamond from the Drow because she thought it was pretty… and then gave it to me when they chased after her!" Kori stated while giving her sister a harsh glare and Koma merely shrugged like it was no big deal.

"Oh c'mon little Star, don't tell me you're afraid of the big bad Drow…" Koma mocked and Kori muttered something under her breath while pouting.

"Then what about that time you declared war on the Flame Unseelie "just for kicks" as you put it…" Kara noted while leaning to one side, Jinx gaping incredulously towards the black haired Unseelie as she grinned.

"Oh that, it really was for kicks you know, and only a few of the flame unseelie were actually injured. And besides, you act like you've never declared war on anyone for less…" Koma stated while shooting a look at Kara and she grunted while closing her eyes and floating to the ground, her shadowy wings forming into a hooded cloak.

"Wait, who'd she declare war on and why?" Jinx asked while Koma suddenly started to snicker to herself before grinning.

"Lets just say that Kara can be really evil when she wants to be…" Koma responded and Jinx pouted, kind of wanting some dirt to bug the other Faerie with as she was certain that Kara wouldn't let the Dark Magic Addict thing go anytime soon…

"Oh fine then, spoil my fun why don't 'cha." Jinx grumbled out while Koma rolled her eyes and turned back to Naruto with a look, the blond haired Overlord-in-Training letting out a tired sigh.

"Fine, you… can be my familiar." Naruto allowed with a mental groan, while wondering why all these Unseelie seemed to like him so much. Grinning to herself, Koma then opened her mouth and inhaled, a bit of magic flowing from Naruto and into the metal-Unseelie. Gulping down the magic and smacking her lips, Koma then reached up and threw off her cloak to reveal her metallic-armored form.

Her body was covered by many metal plates that resemble bandages in shape and size, the armor leaves her joints bare and vaguely resembled a one-piece swimsuit, plates of metal also covering her cheeks and chin, with gauntlets with curved blades along her forearms, greaves with curved blades over her shins, and a large collar / chest plate around her neck / collar, thicker plates on her biceps, fists, and thighs, and sharp metal talons over her fingers and toes. Her armor also has a series of segmented diamond-shaped plates that run down from her forehead to the tip of her nose, a similar series of plates down her spine, and four metal wings made up of numerous folding blades rests on her back, the upper wings larger than the lower wings.

"So what do you think, hot enough for you?" Koma questioned, giving a wink, while raising her arms up behind her head and Naruto palmed his face with a shudder. _'I just know that these girls are gonna turn me into a Pervert…'_ Naruto thought to himself as it seemed that every female in The Underworld dressed as scantily as they possibly could. Shaking that from his head, Naruto looked over to where Gnarl was and then gave the old Minion-Master a flat look.

"Where's that… Faerie Satchel… thing at?" The blond questioned and Gnarl let out a slight breath.

"Unfortunately the Naga are enchanting one for you as we speak, but it's not ready so you'll have to postpone attempting to find The Dark Tower at least till tomorrow Sire." Gnarl replied and Naruto hummed for a moment before nodding his head, he'd need a little rest anyways.

"What about… those girls…" Naruto questioned and Gnarl nodded while pulling the blond to his feet, The Unseelie following as always. Leading the blond over to where Tora and the others where, Gnarl then motioned to the girl's that Naruto had noticed when he first entered the room earlier.

"Sire, the girls I mentioned before are over here, Koma will be in shortly but had to take care of a few minor inconveniences with her own tribe." Gnarl stated while motioning Naruto over to the rest of the group, and then led the young Overlord in Training to them. Seeing the ten, rather frightened looking, girls, Naruto couldn't help but feel slightly out of place… "Look alive ladies, your in the presence of The Overlord!" Gnarl declared with a grin, Naruto braining him for it before walking closer to the woman and felt his eyes bolt open when he recognized one of them… "Now then, the master is currently unable to speak so I shall answer any questions for him." Gnarl then stated and several of the girls shifted uncomfortably.

"W-Where are we?" One of the girls questioned and Gnarl grinned.

"Allow me to be the first to welcome you to The Underworld, a realm inhabited by beings the likes of which you can't possibly imagine. Creatures of myth and legend to your people, all exist down here… in our lord's new rising empire." The aging Minion-Master explained with a grin at the fearful looks on the girl's faces, Naruto narrowing his eyes and glaring the Minion-Master when he did.

"W-Why did you bring us down here?" One questioned and Gnarl chuckled lightly while stroking his Goatee.

"Not to worry ladies, for the moment we have no need of servants, however… you do owe us your lives, and I feel it is a debt that we should collect on when the need arrives." Gnarl explained only for Naruto to place a hand onto his head before pushing him down for a moment, a frown on his face.

'_Gnarl… stop freaking them out and offer to let them go home if they have family to go back too.'_ Naruto ordered the old Minion-Master who pouted while the blond removed his hand from his head.

"Oh really sire… if you have to hurt someone, at least let me call the bloody Jester!" Gnarl complained while rubbing his head, Naruto shooting him a look and causing the Minion-Master to grin nervously. "B-but yes, of course sire, I'll do as you wish… though it seems that I may have forgotten my place over the years, your word is law after all." Gnarl stated with a slight bow of his head and then turned towards the girls, a strangely proud smile on his face. _'__**Finally**__ one of them asserts his control rather than just taking my damn word for everything!'_ The Minion-Master thought to himself as over the passed few generations of Overlords, since The Betrayer, all of The Overlords had more or less let _**him**_ control the empire… while they acted like little more than thugs.

"It seems that my master would like to extend anyone with family to get back too the option of returning to your home. Any of you who have family among the living, step forward!" Gnarl ordered and four of the ten girls walked forward unsurely while Naruto raised a brow when he saw the familiar girl hang back with a depressed look. _'Wait, if she's hanging back and doesn't have any living family, then what happened to the Old-Man?'_ The blond wondered to himself, while Gnarl walked towards the girls and reached up to rub his chin with a frown on his face. Walking before the four girls for a few moments, the old Minion-Master then turned on his heel and grinned.

"Alright, Minions! Form up!" Gnarl shouted and four Browns came from a hallway and gave a bow to the old Minion-Master and their Overlord.

"What you want, Gnarl?" The Minion questioned and the old Minion-Master looked from the brown to Naruto, then saw the young Overlord-in-Training give him a stern look, practically daring him to try anything. _'Have to admit, I really do need to be kicked into shape every now and then… I think I was actually starting to think I knew better than my master…'_ Gnarl thought with a grimace, remembering back in the day how he'd never questioned his master, though nowadays he was trying to tell them all what to do. Shaking his head, the elderly Minion-Master then stroked his goatee while looking to the four browns.

"These ladies are to be returned to the surface, each of you is to follow and protect them until they reach their homes… understand?" Gnarl explained and the four browns nodded their heads, though seemed more than a little confused. "Now get moving you worthless sacks of trash! We don't have all bloody year for you to be standing around like idiots!" Gnarl shouted at the browns who nodded quickly before running to the girls, each of the individual minions taking the wrist of one of the girls before running over to the Waypoint Gate already in the room.

"Alright, now then, do the rest of you have any objections to remaining as members of our ever growing empire?" Gnarl questioned of the girls, while pacing before them, all of them shaking their heads, bringing a smirk to the Minion-Master's lips. "Good, then what other orders do you have, Sire?" Gnarl questioned and Naruto closed his eyes for a moment before humming with a thoughtful frown.

'_Have all of them, except for that girl in white, go rest, they deserve it after their ordeal.'_ Naruto replied in his mind and Gnarl raised a brow for a moment before nodding his head and turning around to the girls.

"You there!" Gnarl stated while pointing to a chestnut haired girl and she blinked before pointing to herself. "Yes you, get over here!" Gnarl ordered before Naruto brained him for it, the old Minion-Master rubbing his head as she slowly approached. Once she was at their side, Gnarl then looked to the other girls with a serious expression. "The rest of you lot feel free to relax, I'll have some Minions take you somewhere to rest." Gnarl stated while snapping his fingers, a pair of Browns walking from a corridor and taking the girls by their wrists and taking them down a hall.

"W-will they be alright?" The chestnut haired girl suddenly questioned of Gnarl worriedly, the old Minion-Master rolling his eyes.

"The Minions may not be very bright, but our Master's word is law… if they even think of trying to harm those girls… well… lets just say I wouldn't envy them." Gnarl said with a shudder, the girl looking to the masked blond fearfully as he shot an annoyed glare at the Minion-Master. "Now Sire, what was so important that you wished to speak with this girl about?" Gnarl questioned and Naruto looked down for a few moments before turning to the taller girl.

"Neechan… is that you?" He asked the chestnut haired girl and she blinked her doe brown eyes for a moment before looking uncomfortable.

"I… I'm sorry… but do I know you?" She questioned and Naruto grunted while rubbing his sore throat for a moment and then held up a finger. Reaching up, he removed his hood, letting Kori, Kara, Koma, and Jinx fly around him. The girl gaped at the sight of the Faeries flying around the young Overlord, thus and didn't notice Naruto removing his crown and mask. "Are those real Yousei?" She questioned with wide eyes and Gnarl chuckled under his breath while walking to Naruto's side. Looking up to the girl, Gnarl hummed to himself while feeling she was very easy on the eyes…

"Yes… well technically Jinx is, the others are actually called Unseelie." Gnarl replied while Naruto finished removing his mask and took a deep breath of air. However the blond Overlord in Training then cleared his throat to get her attention, his three familiars perching themselves on his shoulders. Looking to the blond haired youth, the girl then widened her eyes upon seeing familiar spiky urchin shaped blond hair, tanned skin, and three whisker shaped birthmarks on either of his cheeks…

"Hi… Ayame Neechan." The blond offered with a grimace as he grasped his throat, only for the girl to look at him in shock.

"N-Naruto-kun… Is… is that really you?" Ayame questioned of the blond and he merely gave a familiar foxy grin while nodding. "You're alive!" She exclaimed happily, scooping him into a quick hug, before blinking and then shooting the blond an annoyed look. "You're alive… but what are you doing down here? And why did that… thing, call you an Overlord?" Ayame questioned and Naruto let out a few coughs while rubbing his raw throat. "And… what happened to your ears!" The girl demanded upon seeing his long pointed ears, causing Tora to laugh to herself while the Faeries snickered, earning them all a death-glare from the youth as they also had long pointed ears like he did.

"I'm afraid the master cannot answer you, his Breath-Weapon is developing and causing him a great amount of discomfort at the moment." Gnarl answered for the blond and Naruto nodded his head, the girl blinking while looking to the Minion-Master.

"Breath Weapon?" Ayame asked with a confused tone and Gnarl smirked to himself before snickering into his hand.

"It's something of a long story, suffice it to say that our master has a Kekkei-Genkai that is awakening at the moment, and I believe that we have much more important matters to discuss at the moment." Gnarl replied and Ayame blinked before looking over to Naruto who shrugged his shoulders. "Now then master, the Naga queen has requested an audience with you, and it's not nice to keep a lady waiting." Gnarl noted while walking over to Naruto and Ayame and grabbed the young Overlord's wrist. "Come Sire, we must make haste." The Grey Minion-Master stated while then grabbing Naruto's mask and crown and handing them over to him.

"Oh and don't forget sire, down here, looking fierce is always better than not." Gnarl told the blond before looking back over to Ayame the old Minion-Master gave her a flat look. "And as for you girl, just sit around and look pretty till we return." Gnarl told her flippantly while ushering Naruto out of the room, Ayame narrowing her eyes and placing her hands onto her hips.

"My name is Ayame." She stated plainly, then stopped and widened her eyes before gaping. "Wait… Naruto's meeting with a queen! A _**real **_queen?" Ayame demanded while Naruto grimaced while affixing his mask over his face, his crown on his head, and then pulled his hood over that. As they left, Kori, Kara, Koma, and Jinx grinned before following after him, into the Naga City…

(?)

A man walks down a long beaten path, his body slouched a sheathed Katana in one hand and Geta over his feet clunking against the ground, his long black hair hanging in his face, dressed in a tattered and blood stained white-kimono with grey trim, and battered wooden samurai armor. The man let out a few panting breaths while continuing to trudge forward, away from what had once been his home. _'They do not understand… through this sword, I can sense a great darkness is ever looming beyond the distant horizons… and this blade, this magic sword, it yearns to bring that evil to justice.'_ The dark haired man thought while looking to the simple, yet somehow elegant, Katana that was in his left hand, then continued to trudge forward without a true destination.

'_They say that this sword has possessed me… they say that it is a Devil's Blade, one possessed by the spirit of a vengeful warrior…'_ He mused of his former comrades in Tatsu-no-Kuni, and then let out a few labored breaths as he tightened his grip on his blade. _'But they are all wrong.'_ The man thought to himself with a determined gaze into the distance, a shadow on the horizon as the soon slowly set. _'For it is not blood that it seeks, it is not vengeance that it seeks, it is only one thing, Justice, to right the wrongs of the world, and bring true evil to its knees.'_ The man inwardly declared while continuing the long journey forward, not knowing when his quest would be at an end.

'_Father… even you did not see the truth; this blade is a gift from the heavens, not a weapon of murder and genocide. And as I see what it truly is, so shall I use it as it was meant to be. With righteousness in my heart, and peace in my soul, I shall walk forward and destroy this evil.'_ The man mentally declared before falling forward and digging the sheathed blade into the ground, coming into a kneeling position. _'I have trained with Shinobi and Samurai alike, and many other great warriors… please… let that training be enough for this mission.'_ The man inwardly hoped and pleaded before looking up and halting as he saw someone approaching with a lantern.

"Whoa! Looks like it was a good thing I came out on patrol…" The young black haired man, one who was still in of his teens, noted to himself before running over to the injured warrior. "You okay?" He questioned and yet the warrior frowned while looking at him, not understanding what he was saying in the slightest. _'Who… who is this fellow… and what kind of armor is that?'_ He wondered while noting the white-chain-male under a set of black steel armor he was wearing, a strange stylized D on both the small chest plate and the single pauldron on his left shoulder. "Uh hey, you alright?" The youth questioned once more, blue eyes looking to the injured man with concern.

'_He has kind, trustworthy eyes, he is not one that I need fear.'_ The injured man noted to himself while wishing he could understand what he was saying. He then felt a strange pulse from his sword and looked to it, only to then look back to the young man when he heard him speak once more. "Uhhh… can you even understand me?" He questioned and the injured man blinked as he did indeed understand him, and nodded his head. "Oh, good then, for a second I thought we'd have a communication problem on our hands." The young man noted mostly to himself before then looking the wounded man over for a few moments to assess the severity of his wounds.

"Your pretty banged up, but I don't think it's so bad that I could move you…" The young man noted before moving and then picking the man's left arm and pulling it over his shoulders before standing up with him. "Alright, this should do it, now lets go and get you some help." The young man decided while walking with the injured man still braced over his shoulders. _'He is kind, to help someone he doesn't even know without thought or concern… I shall pay him back for this kindness when I am able.'_ The injured man thought to himself as they continued to walk forwards, the young man leading the way to an unknown destination.

"By the way, my name is Daniel Jack Fenton, a Paladin and Captain of The Guard to the new unnamed settlement from Thedas. But please, just call me Danny." "Danny" suddenly told the injured man who merely raised a brow, not really sure what a "Paladin" or a "Thedas" were. "Me and a group of settlers got away from Ferelden recently when a batch of Dark-Spawn attacked our home. Your probably our first encounter with any natives to these lands since we got here." Danny noted aloud and the man blinked before realizing that this Danny and his group came from another nation outside of his own. However the man realized that that could cause many problems for the young man, and his settlement, when the feudal lords of his lands found out.

'_This will not end well for them, The Fuedal Lords will see this as an invasion and possibly attack them all or declare war on their own nation… but… I cannot allow that, they have done nothing wrong. From what he says he and his people escaped from something terrible, I will not condemn them for seeking out peace.'_ The injured man thought to himself while gripping his sheathed sword tightly in his hand. _'I will protect you my friend, for aiding me without thought or concern for yourself, I will aide your people in their quest for sanctuary and asylum.'_ The injured warrior thought to himself as they continued down the beaten path, towards the coast and a series of lights.

"By the way, I don't think I ever got your name…" Danny suddenly noted while looking to the injured warrior who nodded his head. He then answered him as to what his name was, only for the young man to screw up his face. "Uh… I guess I can't understand you… even though you can understand me… Hmmm…" Danny noted to himself and then hummed lightly in consideration before his eyes brightened. "Alright, how 'bout I just call you "Jack" then. It was my father's name, and it's my middle name but I'm really not using it at the moment." Danny offered and the injured warrior blinked before twisting the word around in his head for a feel of it…

"Samurai… Jack?" The newly dubbed "Jack" noted aloud and then slowly nodded his head before looking back to Danny. "Domo-arigato, Danny-San." Jack offered and Danny chuckled lightly, not really sure what the man had just told him before shrugging and continuing towards his home.

"Well… right back at 'cha… I think." Danny replied and Jack gave a wry smile, even as he began the first steps to his adventure, with a new friend at his side…

(Naga-City…)

Naruto was walking down a street in the city of the Naga, Gnarl at his side. while his familiars had somehow managed to make enough room to hide in his hood together, though Naruto felt it was a little cramped and they seemed to be arguing too much. Naruto and Gnarl walked through the city, Naruto inwardly gaping at the size of it all and the odd construction. _'How in the name of Kami-Sama did they build all this down here, Gnarl!'_ The blond haired youth demanded of his Minion-Master and Gnarl blinked before looking to him with a smirk.

"It helps when you have all the other races in your pocket… The Naga-Queen is very… persuasive when she wants to be." Gnarl replied with a goofy, lecherous, grin on his face before giggling to himself. He didn't think Naruto needed to know too much about the Queen, after all, he seemed like a bit of a prude and the Queen was pretty much an Anti-Prude. Shaking his head of those, rather amusing, thoughts Gnarl then continued. "Not to mention The Orcs and Lizard Men helped build quite a bit of this place." The old Minion-Master added thoughtfully and Naruto blinked before shaking his head and looking around, seeing all manor of different snake people.

The first few he saw had arms and legs and a head, no tail, but were covered in scales with claws and fangs poking over their bottom lips, they all had snake like eyes, no ears, a thin somewhat pointed nose, and strange flaps of scaled flesh hanging from their heads in the place of hair. Next were a batch with arms and a tail, they were significantly more snakelike in appearance with slits for a nose, their heads also had the same flaps of scaly hair as the others, and claws and fangs with snake like eyes and a human upper torso. Naruto also saw one, it had a snout for a nose, snake like eyes, a bald head with a strange Cobra like hood, and thin arms that just seemed attached to its serpentine body, and a long winding tail as it sat in what he guessed was meditation.

Naruto also noticed that they wore… well… very little it seemed. The majority of it seemed more like decoration than true clothing, which Naruto figured was due to the fact they were "A bit Lusty" as Gnarl once put it thus left themselves "On display" to attract a mate or something. "Ah so you noticed, the three Naga-Breeds are down here, the Lamia are the humanoid ones, The Malisons are the more snake like ones, and last are The Abominations which resemble large snakes with arms." Gnarl explained to Naruto and he made an Oh with his mouth, now understanding a bit… _'Somehow I'm betting any half breeds from Naga came from the Lamia…'_ Naruto inwardly noted and Gnarl snickered to himself before grinning towards his master.

"Actually no Sire, while its true a few half-breeds come from them, typically more of them come from the Malisons." Gnarl responded and Naruto gaped while still following Gnarl, trying to figure out why anyone would do… that… with the serpent looking Malisons. Shaking his head of that thought, Naruto mentally spotted a black scaled Lamia type Naga with a few oddities to it walking around nearby and frowned, it had red eyes and white diamonds up its back leading into white hair with long pointed ears poking out of it.

'_Is that a half-breed?'_ Naruto questioned while looking to Gnarl and the old minion-Master nodded his head. "Yes, that one is half Drow, you can tell by the red eyes and black skin, not to mention normal Naga don't have hair unlike that one. Judging by his appearance, he is the child of a Malison. Most Half-breeds are born with two legs regardless of their parent, but Malison halfbreeds are more likely to inherit their snake like appearance than Lamias." Gnarl explained to Naruto who slowly nodded his head while spotting a dark-green colored one that looked mostly like an Orc save for its scales and clawed hands. "Ah, there she is!" Gnarl suddenly stated while walking off, Naruto blinking for a moment before following him over to a red-scaled Lamia.

"Now Master, allow me to introduce you our Guide through the Naga City, a Priestess in training, Manasa." Gnarl offered while waving to the girl who smiled and gave a slight nervous wave to the blond haired youth. The girl looked to be around his own age, with a light build, red scales over her body, pale-red scales over her hands face and down her neck over her chest and to her groin, dark-crimson flaps of scaled flesh falling from her head like chin-length hair, bright yellow eyes with black slits for pupils, long fangs poking over her lower lips, sharp claws on her hands and feet, and oddly, she didn't seem to have a belly-button from what Naruto could tell.

She was dressed in an outfit that seemed to be for little more than decoration, it started with a Usekh Collar around her neck made from segmented silver plates with gold trim attached to a collar around her neck that was made from a combination of Mesh and gold, what looked like a single strip of white cloth coming down over one breast crossing over her back and then coming up over the other breast, an a coiling golden snake around her right bicep with two more over her shins, a pair of gold manacles over her wrists, a thin white-loincloth held up by a gold chain belt that had strings of gold beads hanging from her hips, and a staff made in the image of two coiling snakes on her back.

'_Uhh… isn't she a little… exposed for a priestess?'_ Naruto mentally questioned with a blush under his mask and Gnarl chuckled to himself.

"A priestess in Naga Culture is somewhat different than what you humans would consider a priestess Sire." Gnarl replied with an amused grin, and then looked to Manasa as she seemed somewhat shy as she seemed to try and shift in place in a vain attempt to cover herself more. "Though… this one is a bit young, and also a bit shy for a normal Lamia." Gnarl noted to himself before shrugging his shoulders and walking over to the Lamia and frowning. "So, you're the one who's taking us to Queen Stethno then, yes?" Gnarl questioned of the Lamia and she nodded her head before then crossing her arms behind her back.

"Y-Yesss, milady Ssstethno already advised me ahead of time of what my future d-duties will entail… and she also sssaid for me to inform you that honored ambassador Slythe of The Lizard-men is also awaiting an audience alongside milady, and he saysss that it isss urgent." Manasa explained to the old Minion-Masters with a slight hiss to her voice, though she seemed to be trying to get over it, and Gnarl reached up and stroked his Goatee with a frown.

"I see… so Slythe is here… that means that something most troubling is happening with The Lizardmen…" Gnarl noted to himself under his breath, Naruto blinking as he was still stuck on wondering what Manasa had meant when she had said "Future Duties"…

'_Gnarl, what "future duties" is Manasa talking about?'_ Naruto questioned while looking to his Minion-Master, the old Gray giggling perversely for a moment before grinning at the blond haired youth.

"Oh nothing you need to worry about for a while Sire, and we should really carry on and head over to Queen Stethno's palace." Gnarl urged while shooting a look to Manasa who nodded and walked off in the direction of the palace, Gnarl following her, with Naruto soon following the old Minion-Master with a frown.

'_Gnarl… you do know I don't like you trying to keep things from me… right?'_ Naruto questioned of his Minion-Master pointedly, as he found being "In the know" preferable to having Gnarl spring shit on him…

"Oh uh… right… but, it's sort of a surprise." Gnarl replied nervously while they followed Manasa, Naruto seeming to consider something to himself. _'It can't be too hard to figure out… uh… she's dressed like that, and yet she's somehow supposed to be a priestess or something… and Gnarl said that Priestesses aren't the same here as they are back home so… well, I don't know, all the snake charms she's wearing is probably just a racial thing, I can't really think of what kind of priestess would have to dress in something like that.'_ Naruto thought to himself and twitched, as he still couldn't figure out what Manasa had meant by Future-Duties.

"Manasa…" Naruto managed to croak out, the girl yelping before looking around and then looking to the young Overlord-in-training with a blink. "What… is it… like as… a priestess?" Naruto questioned of the girl before grasping his throat, which felt even more raw than it had before. Blinking in surprise for a moment, the red scaled snake girl then started to fidget as they walked towards Stethno's palace.

"Oh well… it'sss not so bad. We learn many healing spells and certain charms, a few poison type magic spellsss and their antidotesss, and the old storiesss of our people as well." Manasa started to explain and Gnarl snickered, interrupting her before grinning at the Lamia girl.

"Have you learned the one about how Naga were created by Lord Sheogorath yet?" Gnarl questioned and Naruto grimaced when he saw Manasa let out a breath and nod her head.

"Yes… and finding out about that, makesss me really happy I'm not a part of Sheogorath'sss temple." She responded with a shudder while looking towards a large statue in the distance, Naruto raising a brow while looking to her.

"What temple… are you… part of?" The blond Overlord-In-Training questioned of the Lamia girl and Manasa blushed heavily before fidgeting once more.

"W-Well you sssee, m-my temple hasss no n-name, or rather, it'sss just not polite to talk about it." She replied and Naruto raised a brow at her actions and answer, and then blinked as Gnarl started to snicker to himself. _'Why is it I'm always lost about anything that happens down here?'_ Naruto wondered to himself while Manasa then cleared her throat and closed her eyes. "But besidesss a few rather uncomfortable… um piercingsss, and a lot of teasing from my fellow Priestesses it's not ssso bad there." Manasa continued and Naruto blinked as Gnarl tried to hold back belly-laughs, his eyes tearing up.

"Piercings?" The blond haired Overlord-in-Training croaked out and Gnarl let his snickers loose, laughing loudly to himself while Naruto still felt completely lost. Ignoring that, and the laughing Gnarl, Naruto focused on Manasa while trying to figure out what kind of temple she came from. The Piercings thing sounded kind of weird to him, not talking about it in public as well, not to mention that she seemed genuinely embarrassed by being a part of the temple… yet he still couldn't figure out why she looked like that.

"If… you don't… like the temple… why go there?" Naruto questioned in a croak and Manasa let out a breath before folding her arms behind her back.

"My parentsss are nobles and advisorsss in Lady Stethno's court, Lady Stethno took a shine to me one day, and thought that it'd be good for me to go to the temple. She thought it'd help me get over my bashfulnesssss…" Manasa explained, which confused Naruto even more as he saw her checks suddenly tinge purple. _'Purple? Is that a blush for her people or something?'_ Naruto wondered to himself, while also wondering why Gnarl was still laughing and looking like he was in a bit of pain now… however he then started to piece it together in his head and then gaped. _'Un-Holy shit! She couldn't be! I mean she's so… er… what the hell!'_ The blond thought to himself before looking to Minasa incredulously.

"You do that!" He demanded quite loudly, and then grabbed his throat as he started to let out a series of hacking coughs. The Lamia girl grimaced at his shout before shooting him a slight look, and then letting out a soft sigh.

"Not yet… I'm still in training, and thanks to my future duties, I won't be going through several of the trials that my fellow priestesses do." Manasa replied with a tired sounding sigh, and then blushed heavily as a shiver crawled down the length of her spine. "Though milady does still have her strange fetishes…" She mumbled to herself under her breath; while Naruto just gaped at the girl, Gnarl now snickering as he followed behind them, holding his old ribs from pain.

"Oh that was simply priceless, sire! It really took you this long to figure it out?" Gnarl questioned of the blond and Naruto twitched heavily before glaring at the old Minion-Master furiously.

'_Well sorry! We don't have __**that**__ kind of "temple" back home Gnarl!'_ Naruto inwardly shouted at the old Minion-Master who rolled his eyes and grinned while they walked into the Naga-Palace.

"Really? Then no wonder everyone up top is so uptight all the time…" Gnarl mused while tapping his chin and Manasa shook her head as Naruto brained the old Minion-Master with a deep scowl on his face.

'_I'm getting __**really**__ sick of all these damn surprises Gnarl! So tell me what the hell are Manasa's future duties!'_ Naruto demanded of the old Minion-Master darkly and he merely cleared his throat as they entered into a large throne room.

"Well… why don't you just ask Queen Stethno Master… I'm sure she'd be more than happy to explain…" Gnarl offered while grinning and the blond blinked before looking around and then saw a snake woman resting on a series of velvet pillows. Looking to her, Naruto blushed heavily upon seeing the woman, mentally stammering while backing up. She like the Malisons and Abominations had a long snake-like tail, only it had lovely violet scales covering it that seemed to shine, however her upper body was that of a gorgeous woman with unusually dark skin, violet snakes coiling off her head for hair, yellow serpentine eyes, with fangs and claws.

Unlike even Manasa, the queen _**barely**_ wore anything and all of it looked more decorative / ornamental than anything, the gold Usekh Collar around her neck, gold snake bracelets over her forearms, gold chain-belt, and gold tiara over her head that resembled a double-headed snake wrapping around her head before bending back from one another at her forehead. The Queen, Stethno, smirked upon seeing Naruto, who was just silently gaping at the fact she was completely topless, and technically, bottomless as well save for her chain belt. _'Seriously! Do the Naga have no shame at all!'_ Naruto mentally demanded while blushing heavily and Gnarl snorted from his spot.

"Naga have shame sire, it's only The Queen who likes to flaunt what The Maker gave her…" Gnarl responded with an amused chuckle, Stethno sending a playful glare to the Minion-Master before languidly leaning on her side as she gazed down at the blond haired youth. Manasa chose that moment to give a curt bow to Stethno and then turned and backed away while motioning to Naruto.

"Milady Stethno, I am pleased to present you with The Overlord." The young Naga girl said while Stethno leaned forward to look at the blond a bit more closely.

"So you're The Overlord then?" Stethno questioned and Naruto silently nodded his head, his familiars flying out of his hood and floating around him. "Oh, Kori, Koma, long time no see, how are you two?" Stethno questioned with a wink and the two Unseelie merely rolled their eyes.

"Kori is well, Queen Stethno, Kori is most happy with Kori's new Master." The tiny Flame-Unseelie responded and Koma let out a slight yawn before stretching out her limbs in midair.

"Perhaps but it's getting a bit stuffy and crowded in his hood…" Koma noted and got nods of agreement from the other Unseelie, and Jinx. Frowning for a moment, the Metal-Unseelie queen then crossed her legs and smirked towards the queen. "Now didn't _**someone**_ promise our master a Faerie-Satchel so he could carry us all around?" The black haired Unseelie questioned in a mocking way and Stethno let out a slight chuckled before stretching forward, Naruto twitching as he saw just how _**limber**_ the serpentine woman really was as she nearly turned her back into a u.

"Oh right, of course." Stethno then said while lying on her stomach with one arm propped up and a hand on her cheek. "But first I feel we should discuss the terms of the Naga in joining your alliance…" Stethno noted while looking to Naruto who grunted while rubbing his throat for a moment, the woman frowning. Watching him for a moment she then slowly nodded her head before smiling to herself. "He's developing a Poison Sack or something similar in his throat isn't he?" She questioned and Gnarl blinked, as did Manasa, as well as Naruto and even his many familiars.

"How'd you guess that so quick?" Gnarl questioned and the woman rolled her eyes before grinning towards the blond.

"Young Naga go through something similar when their adult fangs start to grow in, the poison leaks out and burns our throats for weeks, it can be quite painful and annoying. I should know, I went through it when I was around his age…" Stethno replied with a frown, and then shivered while gripping at her throat and rubbing at it. "In any case, would someone please bring me a Venom-Fang." The Queen ordered and a Lamia in a similar garb to Manasa, only more masculine, ran from a hall with a large engraved fang on a pillow. Walking up to the queen, the Lamia male then knelt down with it held up to her and she nodded her head and place a hand on the male's cheek.

"Please give it to the Overlord, sweetie." She asked sweetly and the Lamia male nodded his head before jumping down to Naruto and offering him the object. "Just take hold of that, it'll speed up your poisons' development…" Stethno offered with a dismissive wave, Naruto raising a brow before taking the offered fang, noting it was engraved with a few runes, the Lamia Male rushing off when he did. As he looked over the fang, Naruto then watched the fang turn bright blue before suddenly sinking into his skin and vanished like the Shadow-Gem he'd gotten from the Shadow-Unseelie.

'_I have a bad feeling about this…'_ Naruto thought with a grimace before suddenly widening his eyes and then grabbing hold of his throat. He felt it start to burn and grunted before falling to his knees, grasping his burning throat tightly in his hands. Reaching up, the blond hastily removed his mask and took in several breaths before grimacing in pain. He then coughed and a wad of purple-black smoke escaped from his lips, before floating down to the floor… and then started to sizzle before burning away at the floor like acid had been poured on it. Widening her eyes, Stethno let out a low whistle while looking to the blond with clear interest in her serpentine eyes.

"Ooh… so he uses Acid, not Poison." She noted while Naruto's familiars quickly flew away from him as he started coughing up small clouds of acid that melted anything and everything in their path.

"Wow, with a Breath-Weapon like that it's no wonder Abyss Dragons used to be feared." Kara noted mostly to herself while Naruto fell to his side, hacking and coughing before hacking up something from his throat and taking several deep breaths. However, he then gritted his teeth as his canines lengthened, taking on a sharp point, while silver-white scales started to crawl up and form over the length of his neck, before the blond finally started to breathe normally again.

"Oh Kami-Sama that really hurt… but at least I can talk again." Naruto grumbled to himself, his voice noticeably deeper than before. The blond Overlord-In-Training then slipping his mask back over his face while Stethno smirked to herself. Taking a few steadying breaths, Naruto then pushed himself back to his feet and looked to Stethno, then crossed his arms over his chest with a frown. "Now, what do I have to do to get an alliance with The Naga?" Naruto questioned, half expecting her to send him on some insane quest for an ancient relic in a far off land… what? Thus far he'd had to do the craziest shit to get just the Orcs and Goblins on his side! Frowning in thought for a moment, Stethno seemed to consider it for a moment before grinning at the blond.

"Nothing." She stated and Naruto blinked owlishly.

"What?" He asked seriously and Stethno let out a laugh before shaking her head.

"Honestly, not everyone needs something in order to join an alliance you know." The serpentine queen noted with a raised brow and Naruto blinked once more before raising a hand to scratch the back of his head.

"Oh… well… sorry, I've just started to get kind of paranoid." Naruto replied and the Naga-Queen nodded her head in understanding.

"Yes I can tell. You should see a few adventurers, they have some stories about that kind of thing…" Stethno noted aloud and Naruto made a note to find an Adventurer and do just that, mostly so he'd know what kind of hell he'd gotten into. "But while I don't need anything, nor want anything, custom does dictate you must fulfill one requirement to be our ally." Stethno noted with a nod of her head and Naruto blinked before mentally grunting. _'Oi, just when I thought I was in the clear." _Naruto thought to himself while looking up at the queen with a slim frown.

"I see… and that is?" He questioned and Stethno suddenly grinned at him.

"You have to take a Naga as your bride." She replied, which caused Naruto to stop and then stare at her.

"What?" Naruto questioned intelligently as she let out a slight giggle.

"Of course at first I suggested that I accept the burden myself…" Stethno noted aloud and the majority of those who knew her snorted at that, knowing it wasn't a burden for her at all given her perversity…

"You did what?" Naruto questioned while now gaping at the woman.

"But Gnarl suggested that it be someone closer to your age." Stethno noted with a pout, her perversity was _**very**_ well known after all, and male or female, young or old, she really didn't have too many scruples about her "partners".

"He did what?" Naruto demanded while pointing over to where Gnarl was and Stethno suddenly smirked.

"Which is when I thought of dear little Manasa, she's just cute enough to be perfect for such a cute little Overlord! Especially after your scales grow in, then you'll really be a looker." Stethno noted mostly to herself while Naruto blinked and just continued to stare at the queen in shock. Shaking his head at that in order to get everything back into order, and trying to make sense of what he was hearing, the blond then gaped at the queen once more.

"You mean I have to marry Manasa before we can have an alliance!" The blond haired youth demanded and Stethno frowned.

"Heavens no, your both only twelve years old, such a thing wouldn't do… no no, what I'm saying is that you're engaged to her." Stethno replied like it was the simplest thing in the world and Naruto gaped at the woman.

"B-But I barely even know her!" The blond exclaimed and Stethno seemed confused before looking over to Gnarl who shook his head.

"The master is from up top, and they have Monogamous relationships like the majority of the Orcs." Gnarl replied and Stethno made an Oh with her mouth before giggling into one hand. The queen then got a hold of herself and looked back to a now thoroughly confused Naruto.

"Oh that explains it." She noted to herself and then reached up and cleared her throat. "Now then, don't worry about the marriage thing, you do realize that as an Overlord you could have multiple wives right?" Stethno questioned and Naruto shook his head with wide eyes. "Well you can, and in this case it'd be helpful in your quest to unite the races of Darkness." Stethno noted with a serious look on her face, Naruto blinking before looking to her cautiously.

"How so?" The Blond haired Overlord-in-Training questioned of the serpentine woman and Stethno yawned before stretching once more and then leaning forward, her chin resting on her now crossed arms.

"I'll let you figure that out on your own." The Snake-Woman said with a cheeky smile and then thought for a moment before looking to the side. As such she missed the annoyed look that suddenly formed on the blond haired youth's face. _'Ero-Hebi-Chan, you really shouldn't mess with me like that!'_ The blond thought while glaring at the snake woman as she noticed a shadowed figure at a nearby hall. "In any case, now for your Faerie Satchel, and Slythe has also been wishing to speak with you…" Stethno noted aloud while the male-lamia from before walked out with a belt of some kind in his hands. The Lamia male then presented it to Naruto who looked it over for a moment.

It was made up of two sturdy leather belts, three pouches at the back, and a pair of straps hanging from where his hips would be to cross under the pouches. Oddly, The Middle Pouch had jewels on it and was black, thus Naruto figured it was the one for his familiars, while the other two were for other things. Humming for a moment, Naruto then removed his belt and slipped the new one on around his waist before synching it closed. Looking back to the queen, Naruto crossed his arms over his chest while Kori, Kara, Koma, and Jinx flew into the faerie satchel. "Thanks Ero-Hebi-Chan." Naruto offered to her and she blinked before tilting her head to one side.

"What's that mean?" The serpentine woman questioned and Naruto fixed her with an amused grin.

"Pervy Snake Lady…" He replied and Stethno blinked before giggling to herself.

"I like it!" Stethno decided with a nod of her head and Naruto raised a brow, wondering if there was something wrong with her.

"Enough of you and your perversionsss, Stethno. I need still need to speak with the Overlord, Yesss." A masculine hiss came and the snake woman pouted once more before looking to the side, Naruto following her gaze as a lizard man walked from a shadowed hall with his arms crossed.

"Oh Slythe, it's such a wonder how a charmer like you is still a bachelor…" Stethno noted mockingly and Slythe gave her an annoyed, Naruto silently looking at the large Lizard man. He was large and husky with green reptilian hide, white on his chin down his underside, with dark green spots with a row of dark green ridges from his head down the length of his back and tail, a pair of slitted yellow eyes with dark green hide around them, sharp claws on his hands, digitigrade legs, spikes at the tip of his tail, and a pair of fins forming ears at the sides of his head. He wears an brass M shaped headdress, a tattered brown loincloth with a black harness attached to a horned emblem, a pair of metal rings around his right bicep, and a bracer on his left wrist.

"Whoa, he's pretty big…" Naruto mumbled to himself while Slythe then ignored Stetno and walked over to Naruto.

"So then, thisss is the Overlord?" He questioned with a slight hiss, as he looked to Gnarl, the old Minion-Master silently nodding his head. Sneering, Slythe walked closer to the youth and shook his head. "Bah! This pathetic little runt couldn't so much as touch Viathen, let alone kill him!" Slythe grumbled out and Naruto twitched, his eyes flaring a brilliant crimson, before he grabbed Slythe by his harness and actually managed to pull the much larger Lizardman down enough to glare into his eyes.

"**Who are you calling a little runt?"** Naruto questioned furiously, Slythe grunting as he did, Gnarl giving a chuckle as he walked over to the two. Turning to the old Minion-Master, Naruto fixed Gnarl with a glare as he approached them. **"Now what does he mean by Kill Viathen?"** Naruto questioned of the old Minion-Master, who took a serious expression as he came a stop at his side.

"Viathen the current Lizardman chieftain wants nothing to do with allying with any outside nations or races." Gnarl started only for Slythe to free himself from the blond and continue for him.

"The blasted fool even broke our alliance with the Naga when he refused to take a mate from their speciesss… the stupid xenophobic moron!" Slythe Replied with a scowl on his face and Naruto glanced over to the old Minion-Master.

"Xenophobic basically means that Viathen doesn't like other species very much or at all…" Gnarl explained to the blond haired Overlord-in-Training, Naruto slowly nodding his head in understanding before looking back to Slythe.

"Yesss… that is why you must kill Viathen and take control of the Lizardmen. If you don't, I fear our xenophobic ruler will bring us to war with everyone down here!" Slythe finished while scowling deeply and Naruto frowned deeply while rubbing his chin.

"**Why not just get someone of your own people who's not Xenophobic to rule them? Certainly there are stronger warriors than Viathen…"** Naruto questioned of the ambassador of The Lizardmen and Slythe grunted while crossing his arms.

"You wish to have us follow you, yesss?" Slythe questioned and Naruto nodded his head. "Then you must defeat our leader to do so! My people will only follow the strong, unlesssss you prove your strength to them then they shall not follow you." Slythe explained simply, Naruto frowning while Stethno let out a soft sigh.

"He's right you know. The Lizard-Men only follow the strongest warrior. Since you're technically a reptile yourself, you're also able to challenge Viathen to a battle for control of their people." Stethno explained while leaning her cheek into her palm and Naruto bit his lip while considering that.

"Master, if nothing else this will be an excellent chance for you to take hold of three fifths of the Underworld. And once you've captured the Lizard-Men then we can go and look for The Dark Tower up above." Gnarl noted and Naruto silently nodded his head before looking to Slythe, his eyes slipping back to their original blue hue.

"So all I have to do is challenge Viathen, and then defeat him in battle right?" Naruto questioned and Slythe nodded his head, the blond then looking over to Gnarl as he stroked his Goatee. "Well okay then, lets go." Naruto replied and Gnarl nodded his head in agreement.

"I'll go and get your minions ready for you sire." Gnarl stated with a bow before turning and making his way out of the palace. Stethno then giggled slightly, causing Naruto and Slythe to turn to her as she looked down at Manasa.

"Take Manasa with you as well, there are only The Maker knows how many poisons along the way there and she can create antidotes for them." Stethno offered, the said Priestess in training gaping at the queen when she did so. However upon seeing a slight glare from the Gorgon, Manasa pouted for a moment before muttering a yes your majesty and giving a bow. Blinking at the exchange, Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and waited for Gnarl to show up with his minions so they could head out for The Lizard-men Swamps…

(Konoha…)

In the Hokage's Office to be more precise, a man with long white hair slams his hands into the desk of the Sandaime Hokage with a snarl. "What do you mean a body was never found?" The man demanded and the Sandaime felt a brief shiver run the length of his spine before calming himself down.

"Just what I said Jiraiya, the fire most likely burned all trace of Naruto-Kun away… the only thing left was a bloodstain." The old man noted sadly and Jiraiya mentally groaned while palming his face.

"Sensei, you and I both know that could mean the body was taken, what if it was The Akatsuki who got him? My Intel says they've been acting weird lately." Jiraiya noted and Sarutobi slowly nodded his head before frowning deeply.

"You yourself said that they had no reason to come for him for at least a few more months." The Sandaime reminded the man and Jiraiya frowned before rubbing his chin.

"I know what I said, but now I'm telling you that something about this stinks. I don't know what, but there is no way that a body just disappears, I mean at least a bone fragment should've survived!" The old man noted and Sarutobi blinked before silently nodding his head, then looked at his former student with a frown.

"Then what are you suggesting? That Naruto-kun is still alive, and that he's been captured by the Akatsuki?" The Sandaime questioned of the white haired man who grunted before shaking his head.

"No I don't think so… this doesn't seem like their handy work. If the Akatsuki had come for him, there's no way we would've missed them. Besides that, they wouldn't waste their time burning a building down and making us think he was dead." Jiraiya replied while crossing his arms over his chest and the Sandaime reached into his desk and produced the metal-gauntlet found in the rubble.

"This was found amidst the rubble, I've never seen this kind of glove before in my life Jiraiya, do you have any information?" The Sandaime questioned of the white haired man and Jiraiya picked the gauntlet up and looked it over.

"No… this design isn't native to anywhere in the Elemental Nations…" Jiraiya noted to himself before rubbing his chin with a frown. "The writing in here mentions an Overlord… Overlord… I've heard that before somewhere." The white haired man mused while closing his eyes and frowning in thought. Letting out a sigh, the Sandaime then reached up and rubbed at his temples.

"I'm way too old for this shit…" The old man declared and Jiraiya snorted before looking at the old man with a grin.

"C'mon sensei, you'll probably outlive both Tsunade and myself at this rate." The white haired man noted and Sarutobi Hiruzen muttered something under his breath, Jiraiya suddenly turning stone serious. "However, this glove is extremely sharp and heavy sensei, whoever was wearing this thing was clearly going for protection. But the strange thing is these claws limit the way your fingers can move…" Jiraiya stated while motioning to the sharp claws that were part of the glove.

"So what do you think it means?" Sarutobi questioned and Jiraiya placed the gauntlet on the old man's desk. However as he did, the fingers of the gauntlet suddenly started to twitch and move on their own.

"I think it means whoever managed to get into the village wasn't actually a Shinobi. This would also explain why the sensor division never picked up anything, this guy either didn't use any Chakra, or had so little they couldn't sense him." Jiraiya told the old man with a frown, the old Sandaime scowling at that tidbit of information. Meanwhile the Gauntlet started to flex for a moment before the clawed fingers dug into the desk and started to crawl away slowly.

"That doesn't make any sense… no one has so little chakra that they could get passed the sensory division even if they tried…" The Sandaime grumbled out with a frown and Jiraiya snorted before shooting the old man a look.

"And it makes more sense for a powerful assassin to slip into the village without them noticing?" The white haired man countered and the Sandaime inclined his head, agreeing with him that that made even less sense. However both then noticed the creaking and churning of The Gauntlet and gaped when they saw it crawling away.

"What in the name of Kami-Sama!" The Sandaime demanded and the gauntlet launched itself forward in an attempt to escape, Jiraiya quickly grabbing the object and holding the forearm portion of the glove as the clawed hand started to twist and swipe.

"Sensei… this is no ordinary glove…" Jiraiya stated while holding the gauntlet away from his face, Sarutobi twitching before palming his face. _'What was your first clue?'_ He mentally demanded as his former student still felt the need to state the obvious for some reason. Letting out a breath, the Sandaime then got up while Jiraiya looked over the glove once more and widened his eyes.

"So, find any seals that would make it do this?" The Sandaime questioned and Jiraiya turned to him with a wide-eyed look on his face that gave the old man reason enough to pause.

"Sensei… there's no seals on this thing… it's moving on its own." Jiraiya stated while looking at the gauntlet as it continued to struggle in his grip. "I-I mean it could possibly have some inside it, but a seal like that doesn't make sense, and what seal could even make armor move in the first place!" Jiraiya demanded while the Sandaime grabbed the Gauntlet and looked inside of it, surprised to see that there was nothing glowing on the inside of the gauntlet besides the writing from earlier. Scowling the old man then looked to his former student with a stern look across his face.

"Seal it. Now!" Sarutobi ordered and Jiraiya nodded his head before pulling out a scroll and some sealing equipment from his pouch. Sitting down in a lotus position the man then drew a seal on the scroll while the Sandaime held the gauntlet to the scroll.

"Alright… Fuuin (Seal)!" Jiraiya declared as Sarutobi quickly moved his hands away and the gauntlet vanished in a plume of smoke. With that done, Sarutobi breathed a quick sigh of relief, only for he and Jiraiya to look at the scroll as the claws of the gauntlet somehow tore out of it. "What the hell?" Jiraiya demanded while the Gauntlet then lunged out of the scroll and over to the side where it was quickly consumed by roaring flames. "Shit!" Jiraiya declared before the Sandaime grunted and grabbed a glass of water from his desk before quickly rushing to the gauntlet and tossed them onto it to douse the flames. However, the gauntlet itself had melted into a near unrecognizable version of itself, the Sandaime frowning deeply when he saw its remains.

"It moved as a way to have evidence destroy itself." The Sandaime growled out and Jiraiya balked, and then mentally wondered who thought of that rather brilliant idea. "This does not bode well, Jiraiya clearly there is an as of yet unknown power out there, and they have made their first move." The Sandaime noted mostly to himself and the white haired man got back up with a frown.

"So what do you think they did this for?" Jiraiya questioned and the Sandaime frowned deeply before narrowing his eyes.

"A test perhaps? A way to see if they could enter our village and destroy Naruto-kun, our Jinchuuriki, at the same time as preparation for a future invasion…?" Sarutobi wondered to himself and Jiraiya grimaced at the idea of a nation going to such an elaborate length to test their defenses before suddenly frowning.

"Sensei, if it's alright with you I'm going to look for Naruto." Jiraiya stated and the Sandaime blinked before giving his former Student a stern look.

"Jiraiya, we both know that it's very unlikely Naruto-Kin survived the attack, let alone that burning building that fell on top of them." The Sandaime reminded and Jiraiya gave the man a stubborn glare.

"I won't accept that until I've made sure! Naruto was a prodigy in infiltration, you said so several times yourself. If anyone his age could escape this attacker, and then get out of the village to heal, it'd be Naruto." Jiraiya reminded the old Sandaime before letting out a breath and turning on his heel and walking to an open window. "Besides, I'm still retired, you can't really order me around anymore. I'll have my spies keep a lookout for anyone wearing gloves or armor like that but I've got to know if Naruto is alive or not for myself." Jiraiya stated before jumping out of the window, and leaving the old Sandaime to palm his face with a frown…

TBC…


	12. The Greens

**Disclaimer**: I own anything within; this story is merely a way for me to alleviate boredom…

[Jinx: Hello again!

Koma: Right, welcome back.

Kori: Oh! Have we been given the reign over the introduction again?

Kara: Looks like it…

Jinx: Yeah, in any case, we hope you like the "Followers List" below.

Kori: Indeed, master believed you would find it useful, thanks to a reviewer.

Kara: We aren't on it because we're familiars, so we're always with our master.

Koma: Oh yeah, master says thanks, and you know who you are…]

_Companions_:

**Zim**: Inactive

**Tak**: Inactive

**Tora**: Inactive

**Grunge**: Inactive

**Manasa**: Active

**Slythe**: Active

**Azula**: Inactive

_Horde Size_: 15

_Active Minions in Horde_: 15 Browns

_Other_: 5 Primary Grays, 5 Primary Browns

_**NU**_: _**Dark Lord**_ +

_**Chapter 10**_: _**The Greens**_…

"Normal Speech"…

'_Normal Thoughts_'…

[Radio/Tower Heart In Use]…

"**Jutsu In Use**"…

"**Demon Speech**"…

'_**Demon Thoughts**_'…

"_**Inner Spirit Speech**_"…

(Underworld…)

Naruto is standing by a set of gates, waiting for Gnarl to return with a set of Brown Minions to take on his expedition. He could already see the swampy territory that made up the majority of this section of The Underworld. It was large with waterfalls all around feeding the swampy lakes throughout it, it was extremely humid, had bubbling green water and the sounds of many different insects and other creatures with numerous plants and wildlife allowed to live and sustain themselves via holes in the roof revealing the moon was out up above. Naruto groaned in discomfort, and wondered who thought it was a good idea to wear heavy armor and clothes in this sort of terrain or humidity.

Waiting for Gnarl was annoying in itself, as Naruto was normally extremely active and now was no exception to the rule. But as he awaited him, Naruto wondered about a certain thought that had been plaguing him. He remembered that Gnarl once said his mother had pretended to be an Uzumaki when she was sent to Konoha… did that mean Uzumaki _**wasn't**_ actually his real surname? And if so, what was it! He supposed it could be Black or rather "Kuro" as he was sure it'd be translated to. Kuro Naruto… The Black Maelstrom… actually, he kind of liked the sound of that. Sure it was ominous, but when you thought about it, he kind of should have an ominous sounding name.

"M-Milord, what are you thinking about so intently?" Manasa, Naruto's fiancé from the Naga, questioned with a tilt of her head and Naruto blinked before clearing his throat. He wasn't sure what to make of this situation with Manasa, he sort of blamed Gnarl and Stethno for being a pair of old meddlers. But, the practical side of him believed it was a quick, bloodless, and easy way to gain an alliance with the Naga. Of course a perverted part of him was enjoying the idea Stethno proposed of having multiple brides… Overall, Naruto decided he was happy for having no bloodshed, or having to do some insane quest, thus decided to count his blessings in that way.

"Just about my surname, my mother was called Uzumaki, and I was for years, but Gnarl once told me she only pretended to be an Uzumaki. Thus, I'm debating on weather or not my name is actually "Black" like my ancestor The Black Baron and his brother William Black, or if it's something else from marriage into the family." Naruto replied with a slight wave and Manasa slowly nodded her head before she fidgeted for a moment.

"Naga have no surnames, I always thought they were sort of silly, instead we have markingsss on our body to show our relation to familial linesss." Manasa offered and Naruto blinked before looking at her with a raised brow.

"Where are yours then? I mean, besides your pattern I don't see any markings on you." Naruto noted and Manasa nodded her head before letting out a breath and folding her hands behind her back.

"In my culture, it isss only when a male comesss of age that he is allowed to carry the mark of his family. Hisss bride shall then take the mark of hisss family asss well. And since I am to join your family asss one of your bridesss, whatever mark you bear shall be my own." She explained rather simply and Naruto blinked for a moment before he started to realize what she meant.

"Oh… so you're saying Naga women aren't marked until they're married?" Naruto noted and Manasa nodded her head silently, and briefly wondered if humans, well part humans, had such marks in the first place. "Wait a minute… do I even have some kind of family markings?" Naruto wondered aloud while crossing his arms, then reached up and scratched his cheek, which is where he remembered his whisker birthmarks were. _'I could call those familial marks, but they're just birthmarks…'_ He noted to himself before turning when he heard Slythe let out an annoyed grunt.

"Would you two stop blathering about, where is that little trog Gnarl? We need to move quickly or we risk Viathen realizing what we're doing!" Slythe hissed out with a literally hiss at the end, Naruto frowning towards the Lizard when he did so.

"He'll get here when he gets here, just be patient Slythe." Naruto urged while crossing his arms and closing his eyes, he was impatient as well, but he also didn't like Slythe. Basically he had two choices, get annoyed with Gnarl like Slythe, someone he didn't like or trust, or wait for Gnarl patiently… yeah, it was actually a harder choice for him than that cause he was really annoyed with Gnarl to begin with. Mainly it was that Gnarl kept things from him and did things behind his back, due to the stunt with Manasa Naruto wondered what else Gnarl had done behind his back, which got him questioning why Tora and even Tak were ordered to come with them…

'_Gnarl, if you've set me up with several wives already I swear I'm gonna beat the living crap out of you!'_ Naruto thought to himself with a mental scowl, though his perverted side reasoned that most people would kill for this chance. Then his practical side decided to remind him that he was the _**last**_ living Abyss Dragon left, meaning that if he wanted to try and repopulate the old species and save it from extinction, he'd need a lot of brides anyways. Naruto mentally agreed with his Practical Side, it was smart, and it made a good point. He wouldn't admit it but the thought of being the last Abyss Dragon was somewhat frightening, and he wondered what would happen without him around…

Shaking his head of those thoughts, Naruto then looked to his fiancé and mentally frowned, his limited knowledge of Naga annoying him. He didn't know why either, he normally didn't care for learning a bunch of boring facts. However he reasoned that since his balancing with Garandou put in charge of his mentality, that he was seeking to better himself more. That meant he wanted to understand more, and while Gnarl had explained the basics of The Naga to him, he seemed to leave several things out. "Manasa, could you tell me a little more about yourself? I figure I should know more, since you're my Fiancé and all." Naruto asked the priestess and she blinked before nodding her head and took up a rather cute thoughtful expression.

"Well… there'sss really not much more I could tell you… I'm not really all that special, I mean, I do have a rare coloration but that's it." Manasa admitted and Naruto raised a brow before hearing a grumbling Gnarl approach them from behind. Turning to the old Minion-Master, Naruto smirked seeing him with a group of eager browns. One of the browns ran over to Naruto and suddenly hugged him around the waist with a cry of 'Master!', and thus causing the young Overlord in Training to raise a brow.

"When did they get so affectionate?" Naruto questioned and Gnarl let out a grunt before grabbing the brown and dragging it away, the other snickering as the brown was tossed among them.

"Sorry Sire, some Newborns tend to get rather affectionate with The Overlord from Time to Time, it's like their bloody children I swear!" Gnarl complained and Naruto blinked before deciding that that didn't really matter, though he also made a mental note to investigate it further on in the future. "Oh, and it seems that in my haste I forgot to show you the treasure we captured from the bandits who were holding your friend Ayame." Gnarl then noted and Naruto merely rolled his eyes, not all that concerned with the treasure, as it wasn't like it'd get up and walk away.

"I'll check it out after I find The Dark Tower, treasure really isn't that important unless we have something to use it for, and repairing the tower could be one such thing." Naruto replied and Gnarl nodded his head in agreement with the young Overlord-In-Training, however Slythe then growled while glaring at them.

"Enough of this stalling! We should go now before Viathen learns of our efforts to usurp him! Yesss?" Slythe noted while gripping a mace in one hand, his preferred weapon, and Naruto silently nodded his head.

"Then do you have any idea what we should expect on the way there?" Naruto questioned of Slythe pointedly and the Lizardman scowled deeply before shuddering and looking towards the swamps warily.

"Slimes." He replied and Naruto blinked for a moment before looking to Gnarl.

"Slimes?" He questioned and The Minion-Master nodded his head.

"It is an amorphous blob of living jelly, they're two versions, average slimes and the much larger and more solid "Gels", and even more dangerous "Oozes", either of them is extremely dangerous to most races as they are acidic and devour their flesh by melting it down and absorbing it into themselves." Gnarl explained and Naruto slowly nodded his head in understanding, though idly wondered where half of these creatures had come from. "In any case Sire, I shall be returning to our current domicile, and watching over you via The Overlord-Heart as per usual." Gnarl offered and Naruto nodded his head before looking to the Minions at Gnarl's side.

"Right, thanks Gnarl. Now lets go minions!" Naruto ordered while waving to his horde of brown Minions and made his way out of the Naga City, Slythe and Manasa following behind them. Watching them leave, Gnarl then clicked his tongue and turned on his heel to shuffle back to their current base of operations. _'At least until we reclaim The Dark Tower. Ohhh… it will be so nice to have a proper place of evil again, even if we do have to rebuild it. We can expand and enhance the old tower, make it better than ever for our new master!'_ Gnarl thought to himself as a grin slipped across his face an evil chuckling echoing from his throat…

(Unnamed Settlement…)

A blur of pink zips too and fro in a house on the outskirts of the modest town, the blur soon slows to show a tiny woman with a thoughtful frown. Her curly pink hair hangs in a small ponytail at the base of her head and into her forehead, just over her pink-lensed goggles. Tapping her chin for a moment she then zipped over to a picture frame and looked at it intently. Seeing it was eschew, she then set it right before nodding her head, her hands on her slim hips. She had a noticeable point to her ears, which gave her a "cute" look, with pink gloss on her lips and nails and bright sparkling pink wings on her back. Moving around the tiny Faerie then put the picture back into its proper position with a nod of her head.

Looking around she then let out a slight sigh spotting a dinged pot lying nearby. She mentally rolled her eyes, as that was the definition work for a simple House Faerie. It was common for a House Faerie to also be a Tinker, as it was the place that they would have the most work and need. She'd been a little put off when she'd started it, but she'd come to get used to it over time. Brushing off her yellow tunic and synching a small tool-belt around her waist the little faerie rushed to work. She also made sure that the tiny crown she wore wouldn't fall off, as her host Timmy gave it to her, and she didn't like losing gifts from him. Sticking her tongue partly out of her mouth she then started to look over the amount of dings in the pot.

The tiny little woman now sitting inside of a pot, then reached for a hammer in her belt and flipped it into her hand, a star at the bottom end of its shaft. She used the hammer to beat out the few dents from the pot before zipping out of it and nodded her head. "Alright, that's the last of them!" She noted before letting out a sigh as she turned and saw a broken clock she still needed to fix. "Doh… homes like this need more than just one Tinker-Faerie in them!" She declared before zipping to the clock, then opened it from behind and started messing around with the many cogs and gears that lay inside of it. Exhaling a breath into her curly pink bangs the tiny faerie then started her work by removing a broken gear and coming out of the clock with a deep frown on her face.

"I've seen one of these somewhere before…" She mumbled to herself before flapping a pair of insect-like wings to rise into the air and then flew over to a dish with a cacophony of different stray parts in it. "I'm so glad Jazz suggested we make a place for all my spare parts…" The Faerie mumbled while raising her pink lensed goggles up to her forehead and then picked up a gear. "No, too big." She stated while putting it to the side and found another gear. "Too small…" She stated while putting the new gear on top of the last and picked up a new gear and looked it over for a few moments. Sighing she put that one to the side as well, then sat on the three gears like they were a chair / stool and started to sift through the parts.

Her name is Wanda, as said before she is a "Tinker" House Faerie, meaning that not only was she proficient at cleaning and healing, but that she could also repair broken toys and fix pots and pans and such things. Or more simply put by an old friend of hers named Bell "Tinkers Fix things". Which is why she is currently working on an old broken clock while the family of her host, a boy named Timmy, was out. Jazz, the eldest of the family, was working at the library / school and trying to get it in order. Danny, second eldest, was out on patrol in order to keep the peace around the settlement. And finally, the youngest, Timmy, her host and the cousin of the others in the family, and Danielle, the younger sibling of Danny and Jazz, went out to see some friends.

Sighing, Wanda idly wondered what her niece Jill AKA "Jinx" was doing before shaking her head so she wouldn't dwell upon it too long. Jinx was also a Tinker as well as a House-Faerie, but her bad luck caused more things to break than she could fix. She remembered trying to keep Jinx with her, her "Host" Timmy had helped in whatever way he could, but sadly, the Seelie Court had ruled in favor of banishing Jinx from Faerie society like all Dark Magic Addicts, where she would either adapt and become an Unseelie, or… well… Wanda really didn't want to dwell on that as she let out a sigh and reached up to brush some pink locks from her eyes.

Placing her hands on her black pants, Wanda silently gazed into nothingness for a moment while thinking of her niece. However upon spotting her reflection in a piece of a broken mirror, Wanda couldn't help but admire herself for a moment before shaking her head and getting back to her search. It wasn't even like she needed to admire herself; she looked the same now as she had over a decade before. Like all members of The Fey, she was more or less immortal, both undying and un-aging. She'd been "Born" to her mother Clarion many centuries before, but still looked to be a teenager. As a matter of fact, the only way she would or could die was for Timmy to die, as she was bonded to him and a bond with a Faerie, or even an Unseelie, was permanent and unbreakable.

However the opening of the front door suddenly tore the tiny faerie from her musings as she looked over and widened her eyes seeing Danny dragging in a man in white. "Hey Wanda…" Danny offered with a grin before nudging to the injured man he'd dubbed as Jack. "Think you could help my friend here with a little of your magic?" The dark haired teen questioned and Wanda let a sigh pass her lips before placing her hands on her hips and shooting him a look.

"You do realize that I'm only supposed to listen to Timmy, right?" She questioned of the teen pointedly and Danny rubbed the back of his neck while slowly inching towards a nearby couch.

"Uh… right… sort of forgot about that. Where is Tim?" Danny questioned before looking for his little sister. "And Danielle?" He questioned while noticing no one had cooked dinner, thus his older sister wasn't home either. "And Jazz?" The black haired young man asked while setting Jack down onto the couch, the man frowning in slight pain as he leaned back into the soft cushions.

"Timmy and Dani are out with their friends, and you know she hates being called Danielle." Wanda replied before reminding the dark haired knight and he rolled his eyes, the pink haired Tinker letting out a groan. "As for Jazz, she's still at work trying to get the school perfect or something… then she mentioned helping the mayor, then she wanted to…" Wanda started to list while ticking off fingers and Danny held up his hands with a grimace on his face.

"Alright I get it, she's overworking herself again and I need to go have a chat with her about it later, right?" Danny noted aloud and Wanda silently nodded her head, grateful that the young Knight wasn't completely clueless as he had been only a few years before, in Timmy and Dani's opinions at least. "But still, could you please heal him for me?" Danny pleaded with his hands together and Wanda took a thoughtful look before the black haired teen smirk. "I mean, I'm pretty sure bloodstains are hell to get out…" He noted aloud and Wanda let out a sigh before flying over to look down at the man and instantly realized he was actually from the elemental nations, much like she and other faeries were as it seemed other lands didn't have them, or they weren't the same.

Not really worried about that, Wanda cracked her fingers while stretching in the air and let out a breath. Grabbing her hammer she flipped it over and it vanished in a flash of light, snapping her fingers a black rod with an intricate gold star then fell out of a flash and landed in her hands. Twirling the "wand" in her hand for a moment, the faerie then pointed it at the injured and bloodied form of Jack. "Power of light, mend this battered form! Heal!" The pink haired faerie declared with a raise of her "wand" and the body of Jack suddenly gave off a bright gold glow before the man sat forward and looked around, his wounds gone. Blinking for a moment, the Samurai checked himself before looking at the Faerie strangely as she dismissed her wand.

"A-Arigatou, Yousei-San…" He mumbled while gazing at her in a mix of shock and surprise, Wanda herself shrugging before sending a look to Danny.

"There, now don't bother me, I want to fix that clock sometime in the next decade." Wanda stated as she'd fixed the clock once a day for the past week but it always seemed to break again. For some reason she had the strangest feeling either Timmy, Danny, or Dani broke the thing every morning just so she'd have to fix it again.

"Right… anyways, Jack, you can stay here for the moment. After I check on my older sister I'll see about getting you your own place." Danny offered and Jack gave a silent nod of his head, the black haired teen then walking out of the home and closing the door behind him while Wanda glanced at Jack.

"So, if I know my ancient magical swords, and I do, then that's the so called Blade of Righteousness…" Wanda noted in Japanese, Jack's head snapping over to the Faerie as she looked at another gear in her stash of spare parts.

"Y-Yes… yes it is, but please, you know my language?" Jack questioned and Wanda nodded her head silently while putting the gear back down.

"I've lived in these lands for the past few hundred years, I should damn well know it!" The pink haired Faerie declared simply and Jack silently nodded his head, only slightly surprised by her age given her extremely youthful appearance. "But, what I want to know is what you plan on doing with that thing? Magical swords tend to develop a personality of their own after a while." Wanda questioned while motioning to the sword and Jack merely, looked down to the blade before replying.

"I will use it to bring justice to the lands. I sense a great evil is growing, and darkness has shrouded our world… I will not sit idly by and watch as innocents suffer through yet another war." Jack replied and Wanda tilted her head to one side and then rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"You do know that there is a difference between "Evil" and just "Dark" right?" The pink haired faerie questioned and Jack went silent before nodding his head once more. "Good, just remember that some people have no choice in being dark… it's not always their fault." Wanda noted while looking down into her pile of spare-parts, specifically speaking about her niece Jinx, while worriedly wondering where the other Pinkette was, and what she was doing…

(Under-Swamps…)

Jinx suddenly sneezed while sitting on Naruto's right shoulder, Koma on his left while she and the blond looked to The Pinkette. "You alright Jinx?" Naruto asked and she nodded her head before leaning back.

"Probably just someone talking about me or something…" She replied and Naruto shrugged his shoulders, figuring that if Yousei like her, and other mythical beasts, were real then some old superstitions might be as well.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, I just hope we can avoid those slimes." Koma said with a shudder as she was pretty much useless against Slimes, Gels, or an Ooze, as they could all melt her down to nothing.

"Don't worry, Slythe says he knows a way around them." Naruto reminded and yet Koma didn't look too convinced or assured she wouldn't be melted down for food. Said Lizard-man was crouched low and looking into the distance with a frown, the swamps were muggy and misty, he frowned when he could see several open holes where Slimes were crawling out of the ground.

"Quiet! They're over there…" Slythe urged while Naruto and Manasa dropped low to look with him, followed closely by the curious brown minions. Naruto saw a mass of green "Slimes" he was certain, as they were green blobs of ooze, there were also holes that Naruto noticed the slimes were coming out of.

_[Sire, good to see you haven't gone too far into the swamp, how are things on your end?]_ Gnarl suddenly questioned, Naruto blinking for a moment before rolling his eyes while looking around with a frown.

'_Yo Gnarl, I was wondering if we could like close off those tunnels to stop more Slimes from getting out?'_ Naruto questioned of his Minion-Master, and mostly hoping that the slimes couldn't just melt a new hole out of the ground too quickly. On his end, Gnarl pondered that for a moment before remembering a time when The Betrayer had faced a pack of Slimes while he was Overlord and did the same thing.

_[Aye sire, it'll take those little buggers a while to melt a new hole. But you'll still need to deal with the ones already above ground.]_ Gnarl replied and Naruto silently nodded his head, having already figured that much. Looking around for a moment, Naruto saw a couple large boulders around the area and lightly rubbed his chin.

'_Gnarl, how long would it take for the Minions to move those boulders into position to block the Slimes tunnels?'_ Naruto questioned with a thoughtful tone and Gnarl blinked before using the Overlord-Heart to see what his master could see and then made a slight sound of acknowledgement.

_[It would take roughly four to five minions to move each of those boulders sire, and you have four Slime tunnels blocking your path. I would suggest using stealth and having your minions block the tunnels one or two at a time. That way you'll have the least chance of the Slimes noticing you. They aren't very bright either so you shouldn't worry about them getting suspicious when their tunnels are closed. Just watch out for any Gels or Oozes that might pop out.]_ Gnarl replied and Naruto silently nodded his head before placing a hand on Slythe's shoulder, the Lizardman knelling down to listen.

"I'm taking my Minions to start moving some boulders to block off those tunnels so more Slimes can't come out. When I do, we're going to fight the remainder and move forward. Sound like a plan?" Naruto questioned of Slythe and the Lizardman blinked for a moment before considering their odds of fighting through the current number of slimes. There wasn't many all things considered, more than enough to be worried about if you were alone, but not enough that they couldn't take them out with the Slimes reinforcements cut off from them.

"Yesss, yesss! An excellent plan, my Overlord, perhaps you'll make a decent leader, but we'll just have to wait and see." Slythe replied and Naruto rolled his eyes before turning and motioning for the browns to follow him, the Minions following closely behind the young Overlord-In-Training. Said blond approached the first boulder and swept five minions over to it with a mental command telling them to move it towards one of the Slime Holes. Their mission set they instantly set about doing so while Naruto silently crept over to the next Slime-Hole and looked around before spotting his next boulder and swept five more Minions to it with the same mental command.

'_Wait. This is starting to seem way too easy.'_ Naruto realized while veering to the side and around for a bit, Naruto widened his eyes upon seeing a cloud of green smoke and several Poison Unseelie flying about a… a _**green**_ minion? They looked somewhat like the browns, only with slime green skin, their faces were also more gaunt with two fangs curling up over their upper lips, spikes growing from their chins, spine, and the base of their jaws like a beard of some kind, their ears were longer and looked torn and tattered, their arms and legs looked thinner than the Browns, obviously built more for speed than for strength and endurance, and short tails come from their tailbones…

'_Gnarl, is there any Green Minions that I don't know about?'_ Naruto questioned while watching as the green tried to bat the little annoyances away from himself as they poked and clawed at him.

_[Green… did you say you saw a Green Minion!]_ Gnarl demanded while looking through Naruto's eyes towards one of the said creatures as it continued to try and bat away the many Unseelie flying around it's head. _[Oh wonderful! It's our green Minions sire! They are your elite assassins and Stealth Army! They are also able to absorb poison into themselves and disperse it into the air; sadly, this has left them with a rather rancid odor. However, it's no surprise they are here, they love swampy marsh like environments like this.]_ Gnarl replied and Naruto blinked before narrowing his eyes as he watched the Poison Unseelie kill the green before flying off into the distance.

'_Well lets see… I want to capture the Lizard-Men, however this could be my only chance to grab The Greens for a while… and judging by those Poison Unseelie it looks like they've been attacking them for some reason. Probably has to do with me attacking them back in The Goblin Sewers…'_ Naruto mused to himself before drumming his fingers for a moment and then decided to at least finish closing off the Slime Tunnels so he wouldn't have to do so later. Besides, if he got the Greens they might be better able to deal with the Slimes than any of his Brown Minions if they were stealthy assassin types.

Making his way to where his Minions were still pushing the first two boulders, Naruto carried on the path and stopped at another fork in the road. Deciding to look down the fork, Naruto walked into a small cavern in the side of the Underworld Swamp and found a Minion-Totem just innocently sitting before him and covered in vines. _[Ooh, an object, I like objects!]_ Gnarl noted aloud and as per usual Naruto had to resist the urge to laugh at the old Minion-Master's antics. Shaking his head, Naruto swept three of his Minions over to the Minion-Totem and watched as they picked it up.

'_Can you open up a Waypoint-Gate up near the area where we saw the Greens Gnarl?'_ Naruto asked while holding the Minions as they wanted to wander off, most likely back to the Naga-City to drop off the Totem as it was closest.

_[Excellent choice in Location Sire, not only is it fairly close but you can use it for the Green Hive after you retrieve it!]_ Gnarl replied while doing as asked by his master and Naruto released his hold over the browns.

'_Green Hive? What's that all about?'_ Naruto questioned while only vaguely remembering something about a Brown Hive back in the Goblin city, and Gnarl mentioning retrieving a Grey Hive from the Catacombs.

_[Oh right, forgive me sire but it seems that I may have forgotten to mention that to you before. Now then, each Minion-Tribe, Gray, Brown, Blue, Green, and Red, has a Hive from which they are born. The Green's Hive will most likely be deep in the swamp and you'll have to retrieve it before you can summon them from Minion-Gates.]_ Gnarl explained to the blond haired youth who frowned for a moment before slowly nodding his head in understanding.

'_Alright… then where did the Gray Hive come from? I know that we got the Brown Hive from the Goblins but…'_ Naruto questioned of the old minion-master who let out a light chuckle before replying to his current Overlord.

_[I had it sealed in the Catacombs, and since me and Doc were the only Grays active at the time; it wasn't whisked off like the other Hives were. And now that I think about it, you are the first Overlord to have had to look for the Browns, most of the time they along with we Grays stay… odd, hmmm?]_ Gnarl noted and Naruto hummed for a moment before turning on his heel and walking out of the cavern and back to the path. As soon as he reached it however he stopped and swayed for a moment, his body giving off a brief golden flash. _[Sire, you can now summon up to twenty Minions!]_ Gnarl declared and Naruto briefly considered asking for a Minion-Gate before deciding to save the five new slots for a few Greens.

_[Another excellent idea sire. It is always best to have more browns than greens. Browns are your sturdy front line fighters, having the sneaky assassins behind them means they will jump onto the opponents attacking the browns and help them deal with them much faster.]_ Gnarl suddenly explained to the blond who gave a mental thank you to the Minion-Master before making his way to the next boulder while his three minions returned. Seeing it on a ledge Naruto frowned before walking up to it and having his Minions roll it down towards the path so they could close off the next Slime Tunnel. Watching as they did, Naruto slowly took control of them and had them carefully move it down so they wouldn't have to find another if they pushed it too far and lost it.

Once the boulder was on level ground, Naruto released control and watched them start moving it towards the next Slime Tunnel. At the same time, his first two sets of Minions returned, having finished their appointed tasks with ease. Nodding his head, Naruto made his way to the final Boulder but was surprised to see it was beyond a green mist of some kind. _'Ten to one that shit is poisonous…'_ Naruto thought to himself flatly as that just seemed to be his luck as of late.

_[Forgive me for saying this sire, but you are quite correct…]_ Gnarl piped in and Naruto let out a breath before turning on his heel, now having a reason to go looking for the greens but wanted to scope out the area for another stray boulder first. Looking around, Naruto instead found a large stone slab and another Slime-Tunnel he'd missed that was quite close to the tunnel with the poison. Sweeping his minions to the slab, they moved it over the Slime Tunnel while Naruto then walked back to where Slythe and Manasa were still waiting for him.

"Did you close all the Slime tunnels?" Slythe questioned and Naruto shook his head while crossing his arms over his chest.

"One of the boulders I'll need is beyond some poisonous gas, so unless one of us can walk through it we'll need to get my Green Minions to disperse it so we can block off the last of the Slime Tunnels." Naruto replied and saw an annoyed look cross Slythe's features for a moment, before deciding it was better than trying to fight off the amount of Slimes that would undoubtedly come out of even one of those tunnels… and that was hoping a Gel or an Ooze didn't come out with them.

"Alright, I can accept that. But this will be a quick trip, Yesss?" Slythe questioned of the blond and Naruto nodded his head before motioning for him to follow. Making his way to where he saw the greens, as his last team of browns returned, Naruto spotted five Greens hopping up and down and waving him over.

"Well they seem friendly at least… and they hiss so cutely!" Manasa noted with a giggle and Naruto gave her a flat look while Slythe sneered at the priestess before muttering under his breath. He then noted the field of poisonous vapor that was blocking their way into the tunnel where the greens were motioning and frowned deeply.

"Great, your greensss are also beyond a field of poison! How do you expect usss to get by all that, oh great Overlord?" Slythe demanded and Naruto growled, however before he could say anything, the Greens started to move to the plants and absorbed the poison from them before dispersing it into the air harmlessly, killing the plants in the process and clearing a path… Smirking as Slythe looked impressed by their feat, Naruto then walked closer to them with Manasa and the browns following.

"That's how." Naruto replied smugly while making his way after the greens, Slythe scowling for a moment before following behind him with a grunt. Watching the Greens up ahead, Naruto saw them clear another path before they slipped into a hole, while Naruto and the others were faced with a dead end.

"Wonderful, it's a dead end, what now?" Slythe grumbled out and Naruto gave him a flat look, which basically translated to fuck off, before then rubbing his chin. Frowning in thought, Naruto then looked around before sweeping his Minions forward, where they pushed on a smooth surface to reveal it'd been a stone slab. With it out of the way Naruto and the others pushed on deeper into the caves before slowing down as they approached a series of Poison Unseelie.

"Oh, I've never seen so many Poison Unseelie before…" Manasa whispered while Koma frowned and flew forward, her armor seeming to shift before it covered her entire body, somehow even including her hair.

"Master I would suggest extreme caution, these are Duela's people and she is somewhat… well… alright she's really insane." Koma warned and yet Naruto felt his brow twitch while giving her an annoyed look. However, the blond then let out a breath as he pushed himself up and walked towards the Unseelie, Jinx quickly slipping into his Faerie-Satchel, as she didn't want to see what would happen if she used her powers underground. Remaining with her master, Koma watched as the Poison Unseelie suddenly started to spin and twist around one another, only for Naruto to form a ball of fire into his right hand, mentally grunting as he struggled to control the fire without his Flame Gauntlet when he'd forgotten to retrieve.

The Poison Unseelie then shot forward right at Naruto, however the blond took a single step back before thrusting his hand forward. His hand was doused in an explosion of fire, flames spreading outwards from his fist and into the mass of Poison Unseelie. Many quickly dispersed while more of them were injured and left to fall to the ground in pain. Blinking in mild surprise, Koma looked to Naruto's hand and saw it was singed and his glove partly burned away yet otherwise undamaged by his use of the fire. Walking forward with slow deliberate steps, Naruto felt the mass of Poison-Unseelie start to swirl and twist around him and let out a breath, a bit of acid seeping from his lips.

'_Gnarl… how do I project my Acid-Breath-Weapon?'_ Naruto questioned simply of the Minion-Master, his eyes closed while the Unseelie circled him, and Gnarl blinked on his end before quickly replying.

_[Focus Mana, not Chakra, to your throat sire, that should activate it.]_ Gnarl replied and Naruto silently nodded his head before reaching up to his mask. _[Oh, don't worry about your mask Sire; it'll be perfectly fine.]_ Gnarl suddenly assured and the blond blinked for a moment before deciding to take the Minion-Master's word for it. Taking a deep breath and focusing some Mana to his throat, Naruto didn't see his neck start to glow blue before he opened his glowing blue eyes and unleashed a roar, a vaporous cloud of acid flooding forward and causing the many Poison-Unseelie to quickly disperse and flee from the blond haired youth when he did.

"C'mon, I doubt they'll stay away for long, lets get moving…" Naruto stated while looking to Manasa and Slythe, the two following behind the young Overlord in Training as he walked into a large swampy cave where the green Minions hopped around their Hive.

"Massster!" One of them cried before running forward and kneeling down before him. "I'sss isss Stench, me leader of Tribe, but prefer be called Slash!" Slash offered with a grin and Naruto raised a brow for a moment before nodding his head. "We'sss so happy see you master, we'sss been trapped with tiny fairiesss for so long!" Slash noted and Naruto rolled his eyes before walking towards the Green Hive, several Green Minions quickly absorbing the poison around it for the blond haired youth. Nodding his head, Naruto looked to several of the greens and watched a Minion-Gate with a glowing green solution in it open up nearby.

'_Don't need to be a genius to know what that is.'_ Naruto thought to himself before summoning five Green Minions, idly noticing one with a grey headband and an eye patch over its right eye. Sweeping the greens to their Hive he watched them lift it up and start walking off with it, once he was sure it was clear of any poison, Naruto swept two browns to help them and watched them quickly carry it away.

"Well that was rather simple." Slythe noted and Naruto nodded his head in agreement, making a not that he didn't really need Slythe or even Manasa for getting the greens. But then again, that was hindsight for you and you never know what you could meet when your exploring places like this.

"True, but at least it wasn't annoyingly difficult." Naruto replied before following his Minions, and then stopped as a wall of poison blocked him from them. "Great…" The blond mumbled while backing up as several Poison Unseelie then formed and started to spread out a poisonous mist all around them. "Keep back!" Naruto urged while they backed up from the Poisonous little fey, Naruto taking in a deep breath before roaring out another flood of vaporous acid towards them, only to blink when a shield of some kind blocked it off.

"Great, Duela's here herself…" Koma noted with a frown on her face while glaring forward and Naruto grunted while forming a Fireball into one hand and his Lightning Whip into the other hand. His swords were more or less useless against these Unseelie given their small stature, so it wasn't like he could really do much to them with them even if he wanted too.

"Eat this!" Naruto growled while throwing a hail of fireballs at the shield and poisonous Unseelie only for it to fail and the poison around them to continue to spread.

"Blast it! If you're going to stop them then hurry! This is no way for warriors to die!" Slythe growled out while Manasa muttered a chant under her breath before slamming her stave down, creating a shield around herself and Slythe while Naruto narrowed his eyes before swinging his lightning coated hand at the Unseelie. However much like the fireball, the Lightning Whip bounced off of the shield produced by the Poison Unseelie Queen known as Duela.

"Your spells are doing no good… we need to try something with more power! Use your Shadow Magic on them." Koma suggested as the Poison continued to approach and Naruto backed up with a frown on his face.

"No… I don't have much control over Shadow-Magic, and besides, we don't have a guarantee that it'd work on them either." Naruto mumbled under his breath while considering his options for a moment before looking to where flames roared in one hand and lightning coated the other. "Well then, lets try something a little different for once." Naruto replied while slamming his lightning and fire spells together in his hands, Koma's eyes bolting open as a swirling mass of Plasma formed between his hands.

_[Master, we've successfully retrieved the Green Hive and the Minions are on their way… wait… what are you… oh no… No! Master do not do what your thinking of doing! I've told you a thousand times already that it's still too advanced a spell for you to learn so just listen to me!]_ Gnarl said loudly in his head while Naruto merely chuckled under his breath while looking to the Poison Unseelie.

'_Sorry, Gnarl, but you know me; I've got to try this one out! And with my new scales maybe I won't melt my fingers off!'_ Naruto offered to his Minion-Master while the almost fluid form of Purple Plasma formed between his hands.

"Uh… I really don't think that's a good idea master!" Koma tried to warn him with wide eyes but Naruto merely grinned while gazing at her from the corner of his eye and then threw both of his arms forward.

"Alright you stupid little Unseelie, you are the first to have a taste of an all new Uzumaki Naruto Special! I call it a Plasma Shot!" The blond exclaimed while a bolt of lightning coated flames shot out from his hands like a lightning bolt, one that sent Naruto flying back into a wall, his hands singed and his claw shaped armor melting. Quickly throwing the claws off, Naruto then looked to the Poison Unseelie and watched as the shield was shattered and the Unseelie quickly dispersed, their poison stopping.

_[Oh of all the reckless stunts you could pull why did it have to be that one! I mean by the bloody Ancient Spirits of Evil master! What the hell were you thinking! I told you not to use any more Plasma spells until they wouldn't cause you to melt your hands off!]_ Gnarl all but roared at the blond haired youth who blinked for a moment before looking to his hands and smirking.

'_They didn't melt… maybe a little singed but…'_ Naruto replied internally with an amused smirk on his face, Gnarl cursing up a storm when he did, while the blond silently watched as the Poison Unseelie moved about in an erratic pattern. Still smirking Naruto then took a breath before roaring out a mass of vaporous acid out towards the Poison Unseelie, causing them to scatted once more before soon only one of them wasn't hiding in the walls. "Well that was easy." Naruto noted to himself with a smirk, Koma giving him a rather flat look before lunging forward and grabbing Duela in a headlock. Naruto watched her "struggle" he supposed against Koma for a moment before getting back up to his feet and brushing himself off.

"Let me go!" He heard the Poison Unseelie Queen shout loudly while unleashing a small cloud of poison and Koma quickly released her and flew away.

"This is why I hate Poison Unseelie, they never fight fair." Koma said with a sudden pout, Naruto rolling his eyes while Duela flew towards the young Overlord with a livid look on her face.

"You attacked me!" She shouted while pointing an accusing finger at the young Overlord who merely crossed his arms and gave her a flat look. He idly noticed that she has bright red hair identical to his mother, with odd violet eyes, with pale alabaster white skin, her lips are painted with the upper one being black and the lower one being red, her ears are noticeably pointed with a strange almost organic looking Henna tattoo across her entire body, and large green moth like wings.

She wears a pair of red lensed cat-eye goggles on her forehead, a whip stashed at her side, strange bracelets that have thin green tubes connecting to syringes on her fingers like wicked claws, two thicker tubes moving from the bracelets to wrap around her arms and connect to a fanged demonic looking skull on her back that is perched between her wings, what looks like leaves from her "tattoo" covering her breasts and forming a pair of panties, with a red / blue corset around her waist, a pair of black mesh stockings, and a pair of thigh length red / blue boots that still left her toes visible.

"And your point is?" He quipped flatly while looking at the strange almost clownish Unseelie and then raised a brow when she started laughing. _'Wait… so I attack her and she starts laughing about it?'_ Naruto questioned while watching the Unseelie queen as she held onto her sides while floating in the air, Koma palming her face and shaking her head as she did.

"Wonderful, now she'll never get serious…" Koma muttered while Kori and the others also flew out, Kara and Kori groaning when they saw her laughing.

"Master did you have to make the Duela start laughing?" Kori questioned before the laughing Queen straightened up and then narrowed her eyes onto Kori.

"Starfire? What're you doing here?" She wondered then spotted Koma. "Oh, and Blackfire too, though I'm not really surprised she's here…" She noted to herself and then saw Kara and couldn't suppress the grin that worked its way on her face. "Wow! Even in this dimension eh Raven! You two are practically soul mates huh?" Duela continued to note before spotting Jinx, an almost Evil grin crossing her lips. "And it's double trouble with Jinx, have they had one of their infamous Catfights yet?" Duela seemed to ask no one while gazing into space, Naruto raising a brow when she did.

"Uh… why did she call you all those names?" Naruto asked and the Unseelie and one former House-Faerie all shook their heads with confused expressions on their faces, not sure why she did as the Unseelie Queen was sort of out there.

"Duela is known to make and test poisons and other concoctions on herself… I wouldn't be surprised if it'd somehow jarred her sanity loose after all this time." Kori finally decided to pipe up while Duela blinked and then looked back to her, rubbing her chin for a moment before her violet eyes flared dangerously.

"Hey wait a minute! You're the one who set my plants on fire!" She said accusingly and Kori blinked for only a moment before Naruto shot her a quick look.

"Really… you know you never mentioned that was why they were attacking you in the sewers Kori." Naruto noted with narrowed eyes and Kori gave a nervous grin while Jinx shot her an accusing gaze, then blinked when a thought occurred to her.

"Wait, why would a Poison Unseelie care about plants?" Jinx questioned and then was grabbed by Duela… only to start screaming and trying to extricate herself from her when she noticed how much she looked like a clown.

"Oh cool your afraid of clowns in this story too! Awesome!" Duela declared and thus confusing the others greatly with her antics as Jinx continued to try and escape the deranged Unseelie girl. "And why I'm pissed about those plants is really simple, my mom Poison Ivy wanted me to watch her babies for her." Duela replied while hugging the Pinkette with an amused grin, only for Kara to fly close to the white-skinned Unseelie.

"Your mother wasn't called Poison Ivy, Duela…" She reminded her pointedly and Duela blinked in confusion before shooting Kara a look.

"Really… are you sure? Cause I could've sworn dad said…" She started to say to herself and Kori decided to add her own two cents while giving her a look.

"Duela, you are having none of the "father" either, you only have the mother like the rest of us…" Kori reminded which only served to confuse the Unseelie further as she released Jinx who flew and hid in Naruto's hood with wide eyes as the Unseelie Queen crossed her legs and rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

"Regardless of that, many Poison Unseelie were originally Forest-Faeries before they changed. Forest-Faeries are somewhat related to Dryads and some have come to call them, Sprites. Also, Poison Unseelie grow poisonous plants and the like so in all fairness that's probably what Kori set on fire…" Kara explained to Naruto who made an Oh with his mouth before looking to Duela as she sat in mid-air and looked to be considering something.

"What's wrong with her?" Naruto asked his familiars and they all shrugged their shoulders while Slythe walked over with Manasa.

"Enough of this foolishness! We still need to reach my Tribe or have you forgotten that already." Slythe reminded with a slight scowl and Naruto nodded his head, only for Duela to quickly zip in front of him with a grin on her face.

"Wait up X! We have to have a few words." She noted aloud and Naruto blinked before raising a brow as he looked at the redhead.

"My name's Naruto… not X." He stated causing Duela to tilt her head and scratch at her hair for a moment.

"Wha… yeah but, I could've sworn." Duela mumbled to herself for a moment before shaking her head and fixing the blond with a look. "Right, well anyways we need to have a few words!" She reiterated and Kori huffed, only for Naruto to give the redhead a look before looking back to Duela. In all honesty if it was Kori who started the war, it was her fault and so Duela deserved the benefit of the doubt. "You see, I'm queen of the Poison Unseelie, which is just so awesome! I mean Mister Author Dude originally thought about making me a Pranking Faerie or something…" Duela started to say before getting sidetracked while Naruto wondered who "Mister Author Dude" was…

"Anyways, what I'm trying to say is that since you're an Overlord, you're going to need poisons for your assassins and such right?" Duela questioned and Naruto blinked before frowning in thought and then nodded his head. "Right! And I have a ton of Poisons and toxins and formulas you can use! Like some Smilex! Ooh, or Fear-Toxin, then there's my Pheromones, which kick ass when I use some special lipstick, or maybe I could make a batch of Venom! Wait, I'll do one better and make us some Titan! Yeah that shit is the bomb for supping up a couple low brow servants into psychotic killing machines!" Duela started to say to herself while Naruto raised a brow while wondering what was wrong with the redhead.

"Uh… I kind of get your point, but weren't you just angry at Kori for burning your plants only a few seconds ago?" Naruto asked and Duela blinked before tilting her head to one side with a confused expression on her face.

"Really? You sure?" She asked the blond seriously and Naruto palmed his face while easily realizing that this Unseelie was a little on the spacey side.

"Yeah… but never mind that. You were saying?" Naurto questioned of her with a flat tone, figuring that he was getting a new familiar, though he couldn't help a slight attraction to her, as he was beginning to notice he seemed to like red hair…

"Well, since I'm a Poison Unseelie, well at least in _**this**_ story I am, I'll come with you and make some poison for any of your assassins. Besides, I can also help you a little with those Slimes up ahead, they're pretty easy to get by if you know a certain trick." Duela offered and Naruto raised a brow in surprise, and then slowly nodded his head in understanding before holding a hand out for her to stand on.

"Okay… I guess that makes sense." Naruto allowed and Duela grinned for a moment before reaching up to tap at her chin while pacing on his hand. Kori and the others decided that they'd had enough of Duela and quickly slipped back into the Faerie Satchel, Koma sitting on Naruto's shoulder with a frown.

"Yep! Makes perfect sense which is unusual for me…" She noted and Naruto twitched while wondering if she actually knew how zany she seemed and acted that way on purpose or something. Soon coming to a stop, Duela let out a breath and then turned to Naruto with a grin on her face. "Well, here's to us!" She declared before breathing in, a bit of magic flowing off of Naruto and into her mouth before she closed her mouth and started to zone out with a goofy looking grin. "Oh wow… that's better than Sake…" She noted while stumbling and then falling onto her ass with a dazed look across her face. As the Poison Unseelie Queen sat there with a glazed over look, Naruto shook his head for a moment before turning and walking out of the cave with Slythe and Manasa.

"The last boulder is this way. You two head back to the Slime Field while I seal off the last tunnel." Naruto stated before turning on his heel and walking off as they left, stopping only for a moment to stare at a Green Minion wearing an old faded gray bandanna, eye patch over his right eye, that had a cigarette in its mouth and a knife strapped to its left leg… Blinking for a moment, Naruto then ignored that, though he wondered where it got the smokes, and made his way onward. Coming to the poison field, Naruto then swept his greens over to the plants and had them absorb and disperse the poison from them. Once that was out of the way, Naruto quickly swept his Browns to the boulder before spotting something inside of the cave.

Walking into the cave as the browns moved the boulder out to the final Slime-Tunnel, Naruto raised a brow upon seeing a strange device. It was made from brass and leather with numerous cogs gears and pipes throughout it, however it's function was a mystery to the blond haired youth. _[Oooh, master that's our old Tailoring device, it's only real use is to fashion leather armor or sturdy clothes for the Overlord, however given your preference for speed I'd say that would be right up your alley! Have the Minions bring it to the Waypoint Gate and I'll have Hiss work on some new clothes and armor for you!]_ Gnarl urged the blond haired Overlord in Training who did just that while maneuvering a few browns over to the device where they then picked it up.

Finished with that, Naruto then looked to Duela with a frown while making his way back to the Slimes. "Now you mentioned a way to get passed the Slimes?" Naruto asked the tiny Unseelie and she blinked for a moment before crossing her legs and tapping her chin with a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Oh yeah, just use some pheromones that'll cause the Slimes to see you as one of them… Slimes have no eyes, noses, or ears so they know one another by a certain pheromone that they all produce and is absorbed into their bodies." Duela offered with a distracted tone and Naruto blinked before frowning deeply, Koma hanging on his shoulder letting out a grunt.

"He can't produce those pheromones, and neither can Slythe or Manasa!" Koma reminded the redhead and she blinked before nodding her head.

"Oh yeah, well then I'll just produce it and spread it all around so they won't notice ya… you'll just have to be careful not to step on one or they'll attack…" Duela said distractedly and Naruto blinked before mentally nodding his head, glad that with the tunnels closed he wouldn't have to worry about there being too many of the Slimes to get through the field. As he approached the Slime-Field, Duela sat up in his hand before flying into the air and stretching out her limbs for a moment. "Alright time to do my thing!" She then declared before zipping around the field and producing a strange sparkling mist that hung in the air.

"What's the little psycho doing?" Slythe demanded and Naruto shot him a look before crossing his arms over his chest.

"She's covering the area in a pheromone produced by Slimes, there's so much of it the Slimes won't notice us unless we touch one of them." Naruto replied and Slythe nodded his head, understanding the idea to conserve their strength. Waiting for Duela to finish Naruto then walked forward when the Unseelie Queen flew over to him and perched herself on his shoulder opposite to Koma. Walking into the field, Naruto looked down at the Slimes and was thankful when they did nothing, turning Naruto waved for Manasa and Slythe to follow before carefully making his way through the Slimes. The others were quick to follow but were just as careful, Slythe grumbling as he was clearly not built for stealth given his larger frame and was having some difficulty.

However regardless of his struggling to do so they soon made it across the field of Slimes and continued forward on the path to the Lizard-men's home. Walking on, Naruto idly noted a settlement in the distance, only visible by a column of smoke in the air. Manasa smiling as there hadn't been any fighting thus far. "It seemsss I wasss worried for nothing. We haven't had to fight one monster thisss entire time." Manasa noted with a smile on her face and Slythe mentally groaned when she said that, knowing that somehow she had probably managed to jinx them all. And as if that was the trigger for something, Naruto grabbed the sides of his head as a sharp pain lanced its way through his mind, Slythe and Manasa soon following as they all felt something in their heads.

_[Foolish little Overlord… Naga… and Lizard-Man…]_ A whispery voice echoed out in their minds at the same time, Naruto gritting his teeth in pain.

"By the Dragon… what is this!" Slythe demanded while falling to his knees, his ears bleeding through his fingers while Manasa was shaking and in much the same position as the larger reptile, however was unable to move as she fell into a fetal position on the ground. In fact, Naruto idly noted that Duela and Koma were also in pain while holding their heads as blood seeped from their own ears. And judging by the strange feeling on his own fingers, he believed he was in much the same position.

_[You are trespassing here, we do not want you here, we do not need you here, the time of The Overlord is over.]_ The whispered voice echoed out and Naruto shook his head and grit his teeth while forcing the strange feeling in his head away.

_[Master! I need you to focus and resist the presence in your mind! This voice in your head appears to be a Illithid, a bloody Mind-Flayer!]_ Gnarl's voice echoed out and Naruto clenched his eyes closed while then trying to push back the "Mind-Flayer's" presence from his mind while wondering what the damn thing was supposed to be.

_[You should not have come here, this place is not for you, this realm shall soon belong to us once more.]_ The quiet whisper of a voice echoed out and Naruto managed to open one eye and looked around, soon widening his eyes when he saw a creature standing across from them. It looked vaguely humanoid, only with blue skin and sharp talons on its fingers, with long black leather robes that have a skull positioned at its waist and a large high-collar behind its head, ornaments hanging from its wrists, while its head resembles a squid, with four drooping tentacles and a pair of sinister green eyes. The creature slowly lifted its hands and Naruto was surprised to see it float off of the ground before slowly approaching.

_[You who have trespassed, The Overlord… let us see, how your mind tastes… while your allies become my slaves… forever.]_ The Mind-Flayer mused in that same almost whispery tone while approaching Naruto who grit his teeth and lowered his arms while glaring at the creature. _'Why can't I move!'_ Naruto inwardly demanded of himself as he found his body was holding firmly to where it was, and no matter how hard he tried to command his body to move, it merely ignored his commands. _[You will have no chance of escape; my mind blast has rendered you incapable of such a feat.]_ The Mind-Flayer noted while then lifting its tentacles up to show a strange mouth with a row of sharp teeth in a circle.

The Mind-Flayer then placed its hands onto the blond's shoulders; it's talons digging into his shoulders while he grit his teeth in pain. Widening his eyes as the Mind-Flayer started to wrap its tentacles around his head… _**"Must I really do everything myself runt?"**_ The voice of Kyuubi demanded in a low growling tone while an aura of crimson energy formed around Naruto and knocked the Mind-Flayer back, its tentacles sizzling while Naruto took a breath and let out labored breaths while looking at the Mind-Flayer in a mix of shock and fear.

'_Th-Thanks Kyuubi…'_ Naruto offered gratefully while Manasa and Slythe both looked up, the strange hold on all of them finally over.

"_**I was only protecting my own skin, as much as I'd love to see your brain eaten, I would prefer that to happen at a time when I'm not dependent on you to live!"**_ The Kyuubi grumbled out while Naruto silently reached back and unsheathed his twin Tanto while glaring at the Mind-Flayer. _**"Now shut up, kick Squid-Face's ass, and let me get some fucking sleep already…"**_ Kyuubi grumbled out and Naruto was only too happy to oblige the demon-fox as he snarled and lunged at the Mind-Flayer. Jumping up into a kick, the blond watched the Mind-Flayer fall onto it's back before twisting his Tanto into a reverse grip.

"When you're in pain, you can't concentrate enough to paralyze us." Naruto growled out while stomping on the Mind-Flayer's chest, in all honesty, being killed was one thing, but this freak tried to make him dinner, and he was no ones fucking dinner!

_[Ugh… blasted… aura… it burns! It burns!]_ The Mind-Flayer sent out and Naruto merely raised a brow before cursing as something lunged out of the shadows and started swinging a Nunchaku at him. Dodging the strange weapon for a few moments while being forced back from the Mind-Flayer, Naruto then managed to catch the chain of the weapon with his Tanto and get a good look at his attacker. As a result, he was very surprised to see an extremely large cat-like man with dead looking eyes.

The vaguely Cat-Like man was covered in blue fur with lighter colored fur on his chest and face, his physique is body-builder like in that he is simply huge by Naruto's standards, though not freakishly so, and towering over him, his hands and feet both end with clawed fingers and toes, he had hair that looked "bald" at the top of his head and was tied into a topknot at the back, a few deep scars littered his form with one sliced over his blinded right eye, his ears are pointed, and his only usable eye is a deep red color. He wears a spiked red harness, spiked red gauntlets over fury gloves, spiked red shin / instep-guards, a pair of dark brown pants with a pouch at either thigh, and a large silver belt with a strange emblem at the front of his waist…

His Nunchaku was odd in that the two separate parts of it were different colored while connected via a thick chain, one of the handles was red, the other blue, and they ended in the shape of a cats claws. Gritting his teeth as he tried to hold the enormous cat-man back, Naruto idly noticed The Mind-Flayer was getting back to his feet, then felt his burden lessen and watched Slythe ram into the cat from the side with a wide arrogant grin stretched across his face.

"I always knew the cats were stupid, but to work with a Mind-Flayer! This makes even the Gnolls look smart in comparison!" Slythe noted aloud while Naruto watched as the cat reached up and pulled himself up with that same almost dead look to his eye.

"He's not doing this of his own accord… he's being controlled." Naruto noted and Slythe scowled deeply at that while turning to look at the Mind-Flayer.

_[Sire be careful, a Mind-Flayer usually has at least two servants with them, if that cat is one of them, then another should be close by!]_ Gnarl's voice echoed out while Naruto gazed at The Mind-Flayer for a moment, and then turned back to the Cat as he pushed himself back to his feet and swayed in place for a few moments.

"Oh really… so he's just a pawn to that squid faced freak then." Slythe realized with a sneer working its way onto his features. "Well that's annoying, normally I'd like beating the tar out of a cat, but with him being controlled it's like your cheating me out of a proper victory!" Slythe growled out while turning to the Mind-Flayer as it stumbled away from them, it's burned tentacles smoking lightly. Looking to them angrily, The Mind-Flayer narrowed its eyes onto Naruto while pointing a single clawed digit at him.

_[You will pay for these injuries you've inflicted upon me… young Overlord…]_ The Mind-Flayer declared while Naruto and Slythe evaded the Cat as he tried to grab them, both trying to keep both the mind controlled cat and The Mind-Flayer in their line of site. _[But… for now… enjoy playing with my pet. And should we meet again… know that you will die!]_ The Mind-Flayer's voice echoed out ominously as it rose up into the air before seeming to fade into a burst of black smoke while Naruto and Slythe watched the Cat, only for him to scream in pain while gripping his head, then fall to his knees.

"What? Why isn't he still attacking? The Mind-Flayer said he would leave his pet with us!" Slythe growled out and Naruto blinked before looking around, then felt the earth shudder, his eyes widening as a bad feeling suddenly took hold of him.

"I don't think that cat was his pet…" Naruto noted aloud and Slythe frowned deeply before he noticed the shaking as well, his eyes widening as he, Manasa, and Naruto all looked to see a ten-foot tall lizard with wings attached to its arms moving towards them… Seeing the beast, both Duela and Koma cursed before slipping into Naruto's Faerie-Satchel and out of the line of "Fire"…

"It's a Dragon!" Manasa exclaimed fearfully while Slythe cursed as the beast roared and a flood of fire shot out at them. Cursing loudly, Naruto quickly grabbed the large Cat-Like man from before while using a Kawarimi no Jutsu to escape the blast of fire from the beast. Landing behind a rock formation, Naruto scowled while looking to the dragon as it walked further into the area. _'Wonderful, that freaky Squid-Face monster is syqing a fucking relative on me now!'_ The blond haired youth thought with a mental scowl and then noticed Manasa was hiding behind a nearby rock while shaking.

_[Actually sire, that happens to be a Dragon from Tamriel, thus it's not a relative of yours. It's still technically your "Kin" as all Dragons are considered Kin to one another regardless of color or origin but there is no familial relationship between you. Hence why it's trying so hard to kill you.]_ Gnarl noted in Naruto's head and the blond frowned deeply, given the distance between the Elemental Nations and Tamriel, a Dragon from those lands shouldn't have been able to get there… unless that Mind-Flayer had more friends than he thought.

'_Gnarl, who could get a Dragon from Tamriel over here?'_ Naruto questioned while slowly turning to look at the Dragon as it looked for them, Slythe nowhere in sight but probably hiding behind one of the many rocks around them.

_[Not many people I know of Sire… wait… a Daedric Lord could do it easily enough. But why would one help a Mind-Flayer… this begs for an investigation Sire! Something rotten is going on, and it's not in our favor!]_ Gnarl declared while Naruto moved over to Manasa and placed a hand over her mouth and on her shoulder to keep her from screaming. The crimson Naga looked to him warily, her body shaking all over and the blond felt a need to help her, before shaking his head and looking back to the large Cat-like-man as he seemed in pain.

"Head over there and see if you can heal him… I'm going to try and deal with that Dragon." Naruto urged and the Naga-Girl nodded her head before crouching down and making her way to the cat-like-man. Clicking his tongue, Naruto then flexed his hand, calling his Minions to himself and heard them running and screaming. Looking to where they were coming from, Naruto saw several slimes following them and smirked. _'That could work…'_ He mused to himself and swept the Minions towards the Dragon, the beast roaring and lunging to take a bite out of them. Naruto then quickly had the Minions disperse and the dragon rammed face-first into the mass of Slimes following them.

The Dragon gave a roar of pain as the Slimes acidic bodies did their work and started drying to melt the beast's scaled flesh. However instead it shook them off and breathed fire onto the Slimes, killing them without any sort of trouble while the Minions ran over to Naruto. _'Oh great, now it'll know where I am…'_ Naruto thought to himself and jumped out from behind the rocks to run away from where Manasa was trying to heal the Cat-Like-Man. The Dragon clearly saw him and roared while lunging at him on all fours, frowning deeply, the blond rolled out of the way of the beast, causing it to ram into a pillar, while Naruto formed some Shadow-Magic into his free hand.

Clenching his fist, the blond swung his body and arm and sent several arcs of Shadow Magic from his claws at the beast. The Arcs of Shadow managed to slice into the beast, causing it to wince, giving Naruto all the time he needed as he then lunged at it and jumped onto its back. Grabbing hold of one of the many spikes lining its spine, the blond haired youth then grit his teeth as the beast thrashed for a moment before swinging its tail up and knocking the blond off of its back. Coming out into a roll, Naruto pushed himself up to his feet and lifted his leg up before twisting into a stomp, several blades of shadow rising up out of the ground and flowing towards the Dragon.

However the beast merely snarled while flapping its enormous wings and rising up into the air, out of the blond haired youth's reach. Looking all around for the creature, Naruto then ducked out of the way as it passed over him and spat out a spray of flames at him from the air. Looking up as it passed, the blond haired youth grunted darkly and frowned as the Dragon turned around and landed upon the ground heavily. The beast roared out once it landed and started to drag its claws across the ground across from him. Giving a final roar, the beast lunged forward, Naruto preparing to move out of the way before blinking when he saw a familiar Green Minion jump onto the back of the dragon.

'_Hey… it's the one with the cigarettes, where did he come from?'_ Naruto wondered before cursing and rolling out of the way of the Dragon's charge as it rammed into a large rocky column instead. Looking back to the Dragon, Naruto saw the green from before climbing up the Dragon's back before grabbing its knife. Making its way up the beast's neck as it shook its body while pulling out of the rubble, the green Minion soon reached its head and then stabbed its blade into one of its eyes. The Dragon roared in pain and unleashed a torrent of fire Naruto cursing as he swept his Minions away from the creature as it thrashed for a few moments before reaching towards the Green.

But the strange Green merely slipped off of his head instead, landing on the ground where it then seemed to fade away, soon completely disappearing while Naruto silently watched on. _'Uh… Gnarl, what Minion was that? Cause I got to admit, he's pretty good…'_ Naruto noted aloud and the old Minion-Master chuckled lightly from his head of their mental link. Of course that was really quite the understatement, since that single Minion had, on its own, managed to damage the Dragon more than the majority of Slimes had, or Naruto himself. Admittedly, Naruto was more than just a little wary of fighting a full-grown Dragon one on one and head to head, but still…

_[That sire, was Snake, one of the five Primary Greens, he's an expert at infiltration as well as taking down opponents significantly larger or more powerful than he is.]_ Gnarl responded and Naruto blinked before making a note to learn as much as he possibly could from the Green Minion, as he seemed to encounter such beings quite often for some reason. _[That's actually not a bad idea, and I should add that each of the Greens is an expert Assassin, so given your status as first Assassin Class Overlord, they would be the best teachers we could offer you.]_ Gnarl added and Naruto made another note to get to know The Greens better while watching as the Dragon suddenly turned to him and narrowed its bright yellow eyes.

The Beast roared at him, and as like before a stream of fire flew towards the blond who quickly kicked up a rock, caught it in one hand and threw it over the beast's body. Using a quick Kawarimi with the rock, Naruto appeared above the now very confused Dragon and soon landed on top of it. Growling as he held on, Naruto felt the Dragon shift and jump in an attempt to throw him off of it's back. _'Sorry, but I'm too stubborn for that ass hole!'_ Naruto mentally growled seeing as even if he did say it out loud it wouldn't be like the Dragon could understand him. Shaking his head of that thought Naruto then started to climb along the Dragon's body, idly noting his browns lunging at the beast.

Watching them silently, Naruto mentally winced as the beast breathed fire onto them, causing them to run around screaming like morons. Some of the browns, the smarter ones at least, managed to duck and roll and put out the flames while the rest were quickly burned away. However Naruto then noticed a strange weight was added to the Dragon's back as his five Greens appeared with metal claws strapped to their wrists. "Mastah, we's here to help!" Snake stated in a hissing tone before he and the other greens started to try and stab into the Dragon. However it's scales were much too tough for their claws and the beast whipped its tail up at them.

Seeing it's shadow, Naruto swept the Greens off of the beast and then grunted as he was batted off of the beast by its tail. Landing on the ground with a grunt, Naruto rolled back into a column, causing it to shatter on impact. Groaning in pain, Naruto pulled himself out of the rubble and placed a hand to the side of his head. _'I am so never doing that again…'_ Naruto decided before sweeping his Green Minions to the side and then set up a Guard-Marker a distance away, the greens vanishing around it as he did. _'They wouldn't be much help against this thing, but where is Slythe? Don't tell me he ran away!'_ Naruto wondered to himself with annoyance, before spotting the Dragon turning to him with narrowed eyes.

Widening his own, the blond looked around and spotted a Shadow-gem next to his hand, and then noticed a Health-Column had been unearthed from one of the columns that the dragon had already knocked down. _'Wow… Talk about being lucky!'_ Naruto thought to himself while grabbing the Shadow-Gem and then quickly rolling out of the way as the Dragon unleashed another torrent of flames at him. Coming out on his side, Naruto pushed himself up and held his hands to the side to take control of his browns, then swept them over to the Guard Marker with the Greens. With them out of the way, literally, Naruto then clenched his fist on the Shadow-Gem and absorbed it into himself.

As soon as he did, Naruto grit his teeth in pain and fell to his knees, the Dragon dragging its claws along the ground when he did. Gritting his teeth, Naruto felt his feet start to shift and change before slowly managing to push himself up to his feet. Looking down at the changes, Naruto felt his eyes widen upon seeing a pair of silver-white scaled Dragonic-Talons had replaced his feet and lower legs, he was actually now standing on the three large talons on the front and idly noticed they were Digitigrade in design like Slythe's, a small talon at the back of his heel… _'I'm… I'm really not human anymore…'_ Naruto thought quietly to himself before shrieking in pain as the Dragon managed to use his distraction to ram into him.

Grunting in pain, Naruto snarled, his eyes turning bright red as he then grabbed the Dragon's snout and tried to hold it back. However the Dragon merely narrowed its eyes and took a step back, then quickly grabbed up one of Naruto's legs with its mouth. The creature then tried to crunch down on him for a moment but the sturdy bones and steel strong scales managed to keep the beast from piercing into him. Snarling darkly, the Dragon then twisted around tossing Naruto the side and roaring loudly. Rearing its head back, the beast then breathed out a torrent of flames, Naruto twisting onto all fours with a furious snarl across his face.

Lunging out of the way of the flames, Naruto flipped into a kick, sending out three arcs of shadows with his toes before landing on all fours. The Dragon wrapped its wings around itself to block the shadowy blades while Naruto lunged at the beast with a roar. Grabbing onto the spikes onto its back, Naruto inhaled deeply before breathing a torrent of acidic vapors onto the beast's neck, the dragon shrieking in pain as its flesh slowly sizzled and melted away. Flicking its tail at the now furious blond, the beast then shrieked once more as Naruto breathed another torrent of acid onto its tail, the limb sizzling and melting away like its flesh.

As this was happening, Manasa was watching on with wide eyes as the young blond Overlord slowly started to gain an advantage over his much larger kin. _'If he's this powerful now, I can only imagine how much more powerful he'll be in a few years…'_ The Lamia girl thought to herself with wide eyes and a slight blush, as she found his silver-white scales to be somewhat cute. However she then shrieked when she felt a hand on her shoulder, only to blush even more when she saw Slythe now looking at her with a sneer across his face.

"Calm down you stupid girl, or you'll attract that bloody beast right to us!" The Lizard-Man grumbled out before turning to watch as Naruto held onto the Dragon as it tried everything to jar him loose, even ramming into the columns around the room. He also idly noted the Greens, as they carried a glowing red pillar away, out of the way of the fight no doubt. Manasa then seemed to narrow her eyes onto Slythe as she turned to look at Naruto fighting the Dragon on his own, then turned back to the older warrior.

"Why aren't you helping him?" She demanded pointedly and Slythe sneered at the girl once more and placed his hands on his hips.

"Unlike some people, I'm not foolhardy enough to actually go and attack a Dragon head on! Even one as small as that could easily cook me!" Slythe replied and yet Manasa continued to glare at him for a moment, before turning to worriedly watch her fiancé fight the beast… the strange Cat-Man's red eyes slowly opening at her side…

Holding on tightly to the beast thrashed about, Naruto then held a hand out and swept his remaining Minions over to the Health-Column he'd seen earlier, just to get them out of the way. Watching them scurry over to it for only a moment, Naruto then dug his razor sharp talons into its body, both his fingers and toes' managing to pierce through it's armored hyde. Shrieking out, the beast started to twist and shake in an attempt to jar the blond haired youth loose, however he held firm and it started to breath heavily. Roaring out loudly, the dragon flapped its wings several times before finally rising up into the air and flying towards the ceiling.

Grunting as the Dragon rammed into the ceiling, Naruto slipped off of it's back, only for it to catch him in one of its lower talons. Roaring out at him the beast tried to bite into the blond, but he raised his right forearm to block, his scales barely managing to hold back the beasts sharp fangs. Forming a bit of shadow-magic into his free hand, Naruto then slammed it into the beasts face, causing it to shriek out in pain as tendrils of darkness started to slice into it. The beast suddenly roared out in pain, sending a torrent of fire out of its mouth while Naruto held onto its talon.

Looking to the beast's wings, Naruto then grinned darkly as he noted how thin the flesh was there and took a deep breath. Breathing out a torrent of acidic vapors, Naruto watched them melt away at the beast's right wing. The beast shrieked once more, and they did a barrel roll for a moment before it started to plummet back to the ground below. Cursing as they did, Naruto tried to get on top of the beast to limit the damage he'd suffer, only fro the beast to slam a hand into him sending him skidding into the ground where he soon impacted with a boulder. Grunting a coughing in pain, Naruto pushed himself onto his back and panted heavily while slowly sitting up to see the dragon.

The beast was laying in a heap, much the same as the young Overlord-in-Training himself, however it then managed to push itself up. A low rumbling growl thundered in its throat as it glared towards the now wide-eyed blond. _'Un-Holy shit… how much damage does it take to bring one of these fuckers down!'_ Naruto wondered to himself and then felt as the Minions managed to get the Healt-Column to the waypoint gate, thus revitalizing the blond. However even with that he still felt like he'd just had every bone in his body shattered… and given his hard impact with the ground only a moment before that was actually fairly likely.

Grunting and trying to pull himself back from the dragon as it slowly stalked towards him, flames starting to form within its mouth. However before it could roast the weakened Overlord, Slythe lunged forward and knocked its head up with his mace, the flames shooting up into the air. Slamming his tail into the beast's head for good measure, Slythe then ducked out of the way as the beast tried to grab him in out of its claws. "Now you blasted cat!" Slythe roared out and Naruto looked to the side and nearly gaped when he saw the burly cat-man from before lifting up a boulder that was easily half his size.

'_Un-Holy shit… how hard does that guy train to be able to do that!'_ Naruto wondered to himself with wide eyes as the blue cat-man put a foot forward and then twisted into a throw, slamming the boulder down onto the Dragon's neck, snapping it and crushing the air from it at the same time. The Dragon thrashed from under the boulder for a time, trying desperately to push it off of its neck while the large cat kicked a Stalagmite at his side and broke off the point. Picking that up, The Cat walked over to the dragon before slamming the pointed rock deep into the beast's head. Moving back, he then slammed a fist into the rock, sending it deep into the dragon's head and killing it.

Brushing his hands off, the cat-man then turned on his heel and walked over to Naruto, before picking the blond up. "Not bad kid, taking on a full-grown Dragon may not be the smartest move, but actually injuring it as much as you did, now _**that**_ is what I call impressive." The cat offered while nudging back to the beaten and battered beast and Naruto made a slight pained groan, Manasa rushing over to check on him while Slythe walked over with a slight grin on his face.

"I'd say The Overlord here could even trounce your little prince back in Thundera, Yesss?" Slythe noted with a grin and the cat rolled his eyes before grabbing the lizard with a deep scowl on his face.

"Keep talking lizard breath, and you'll find that mace of yours shoved so far up your ass you'll be tasting steel for years to come." The Cat warned dangerously while Naruto smirked, as Slythe seemed to pale, one of his eyes twitching violently. However, the blond then hissed in pain as Manasa placed her hands over him, The Cat holding him in his arms as she did.

"Got… a name?" Naruto asked The Cat and he nodded his head.

"Call me, Panthro." The cat replied and Naruto nodded his head before feeling his head get dizzy, only idly hearing his minions as they finally returned. "Now listen up kid, seein' as you went and impressed me by fighting that thing off on your own, and since I feel a little bad about trying to rough you up before, I'm gonna be following you for a while to pay off my debt." Panthro then stated and Naruto idly nodded his head, as his eyes got heavy. "Not to mention the fact I want to dish out a little payback on that squid-faced freak…" Panthro added darkly while Naruto finally passed out in his arms, his eyes sealing closed while his breathing evened out…

(Konoha…)

Haruno Sakura had not been having a good few weeks, it has been getting progressively worse and worse as time went on, and now she found herself walking to the Shinobi Academy, earlier than ever, and tired beyond all reason. While Sakura didn't normally believe in Karma, it seemed that the universe had decided to kick her ass for some reason, most likely her treatment of a now deceased blond boy. _'You don't know what you've got till its gone…'_ She thought to herself while walking into the academy and making her way through the halls before reaching Iruka's class and walking inside to sit at her desk, then slumped forward to wait for classes to begin.

Her little sister Ayane was acting weird, well weird-er, besides muttering about a little green toad that wouldn't leave her alone, she was also out looking for something or other in the city. What was simple enough, a place to store her larger puppets and build more of the twisted monstrosities in secret. Back when she was younger, Ayane had gained access to research on the Puppets of Sunagakure from their father, after she had mentioned her love of dolls. He had apparently thought it a good idea for her to like her Shinobi career, so gave her a way to use Dolls as a Shinobi. After reading it, Ayane had asked for more, and within a few weeks a Shinobi brought a book on Puppetry and Puppet-Ninjutsu to their house and gave it to Ayane.

Their father had been busy and unable to come himself, as was often the case, and so Ayane started her work. They each got an allowance from the man, and he'd pop up at home every now and then, but overall, he was usually gone. Their allowance also always came in a letter, which either he'd leave for them, or another Shinobi did, on the kitchen table. Sakura used her money and saved it for clothes and other things, which is why she gets pissed when her clothes are ripped, torn, or dirtied. Ayane on the other hand, besides her one outfit, the girl rarely wore much else and saved up a hefty sum for buying more parts for her puppets, and several books.

The book thing was also unusual as she didn't read the trashy romance novels Ino did, the Icha-Icha novels she saw Ami with once, or even the, surprisingly enough, many fantasy stories and old myths that Sakura herself loved. Yes it is true, Sakura doesn't read trashy romance novels, and contrary to popular belief due to her fangilish antics, she does have a personality of her own. She also reads her textbooks to learn more, and doesn't understand why everyone always complains about it. But she was getting off topic; Ayane actually reads books based on Theory for Chakra, its use, its manipulation, its shape changes, and its control. Ayane reads these all the time, and she also reads books on seals, hence how she could use certain seals on her puppets…

Sakura shivered at that, she hated Ayane's puppets, and she hated her seals even more than those. Sakura also hated that her sister had made a seal that brought her evil puppets to life without having to be there to control them. Ayane said it was simply a seal with a bit of her consciousness in it that bound her will to the dolls to bring them to a pseudo form of life, that held enough Chakra to form Chakra strings to move around… or something like that that went right over Sakura's head. Regardless of that, Sakura had been fearful of even being near her sister's room ever since she first created those damnable seals. Being afraid of Ayane could be excused, the little girl was even scary to most adults, but being afraid of dolls was just insane!

However as she thought about it, something suddenly occurred to Sakura, namely that Ayane was a very sedentary girl, she didn't move or work much, and she ate at least three bowls of ramen in a single sitting multiple times a day, so she wondered how she didn't get pudgy. Sakura herself wasn't because she didn't eat much, which was not as a result of starving herself for a diet. While she used that excuse, the truth was that her and Ayane's father often forgot to provide them with food, so Sakura had to use her bit of allowance to stock up for herself and her sister, since Ayane would go out and buy some Ramen for herself if she didn't, and she wanted her sister to eat better than Naruto did.

Of course that made Sakura wonder if Naruto ate Ramen all the time because of how cheap it was. Ayane loved the stuff, literally, she knew this because she'd eaten the last Cup-Ramen in their home only once, and Ayane had not been pleased. Which lead to her gaining revenge in a horrible manner… and the message was clear, you do not eat the last of Ayane's Ramen or _**you will pay**_! Sakura once again shivered and then tried to get back on track. Right, she was wondering about Naruto and his own seeming addiction to Ramen. She knew he was an orphan, thereby it stood to reason that he got a weekly stiffened of money, which was sadly less than her or her sister's weekly allowance, so in all actuality the boy was worse off as he also had to upkeep his home.

'_I really should have been nicer to him…'_ Sakura noted to herself while a pesky Inner Sakura reminded her that hindsight is 20/20 or something like that. She often just tuned her inner-self out in favor of staring into space rather than listen to the often rowdy and tomboyish side of herself. She also wished she could be that way and attack Ayane, but Inner was even more terrified of her sister than Sakura herself, as it seemed Inner had snuck out to deal with her once, and ended up with all of her puppets coming to life and doing _**horrible**_ things to her… Sakura was only thankful that she and Ayane were separate mentally, so she did not suffer the same fate.

Now, Sakura sometimes wondered what it was Ayane did as Inner was so terrified of her that she wouldn't even speak in her presence. Sakura had also noticed that she whimpered quietly whenever she was around. However yet again she was getting off topic, which seemed to happen way too often. She was a smart girl, really she was, much like Ayane, but she over thought things too much and often got side tracked. However she then shook her head, frowning as she realized that her thoughts were wondering off with her yet again. She felt that she really needed to fix that, and as everyone else started walking in for class, Sakura sat up straight and prayed that today would be better than what had become the norm…

However in another class, one Haruno Ayane sat with a scowl as she glared at the chalkboard in front of her as Sarutobi Konohamaru poked her in the side of the head. "C'mon 'Yane-chan you need to smile more!" The boy stated while poking her and she then reached up and grabbed his hand, then slowly turned to give the brown haired boy a furious death-glare. The boy was wearing on her last nerve, unlike how Naruto was with Sakura; Konohamaru actually bugged her for the sake of bugging her. It was some stupid plan to get her to smile, but all it managed to do was make her scowl and hate him more and more as time went on.

"Leave, me, alone…" She warned and Konohamaru blinked for a moment before wisely moving away from the indigo haired girl. Ayane was also given a very wide berth, many of her classmates moving to seats away from her as she radiated anger at the moment. Their teacher also didn't help, as he was one of the "Tree Huggers" that many villages accused all of Konoha of being. This meant he was a pacifist, and non-violent, in his youth on a Genin team he'd been a scout and a messenger, not a frontline fighter, so he knew several Jutsu to enhance physical abilities, as well as defensive Jutsu, just no offensive ones which most boys would think were cool.

Currently the said man was prattling on about something, having completely ignored Konohamaru as he poked Ayane, and the said girl ignored him, as it was a lesson on some unimportant matter. Ayane honestly hated that they were forced to listen to this kind of thing, though admittedly they were learning more on tactics and even a few new Jutsu, she preferred learning about her puppets. Of course she realized she'd have to use this information to pass her test and become a Shinobi, but she was now considering dropping out of the program and doing something else. However, as loathe as she was to admit it, she didn't want to put her upkeep on Sakura's shoulders, so she's suck it up and be a Shinobi to take care of herself.

She also kind of wanted to be a Shinobi so she could visit Sunagakure some day and learn more about puppets. She knew she was extremely advanced for her age, but she found it annoying that she couldn't control larger puppets. Foxx and her small puppets were all fine, but she was having trouble with much larger ones. She was currently working on controlling her smaller puppets with one finger each, so she could use ten of them at a time, before she tried for any of her bigger ones. Admittedly her only big one was little more than a suit of armor but it was still a puppet she could use to get around as a Shinobi and hide the fact she was short for her age.

Yes, she is _**very**_ self-conscious about her diminutive stature, why is very simple… Sakura is big for her age. If one compared her with her friend Yamanaka Ino, they would instantly notice Sakura was the taller of the two. Now given that Ayane is short for her age and Sakura is tall for her age, then this is yet another reason that she tortures her sister. She's annoyed with being small for multiple reasons, such as never being taken seriously, needing a stool or a chair to reach certain cabinets at home, and finally, she hated it because everyone always thought she was much younger than she actually was. Admittedly, her heavy consumption of Ramen could've had that effect on her height, but she'd never blame Ramen for her misfortunes, it just wasn't in her to do so.

"_**Besides, it's so much easier to just torture that sister of yours instead."**_ Foxx piped in and Ayane twitched while looking down to her puppet before letting out a breath and crossing her arms over her desk, then laying her head down and closing her eyes. _'Whatever…'_ The indigo haired girl noted inwardly while Foxx snickered to itself, Ayane soon drifting off to sleep and awaiting class to finally end so she could get a lantern and explore that building she found the day before…

TBC…


	13. LizardFolk

**Disclaimer**: I own anything within; this story is merely a way for me to alleviate boredom…

[Giblet: And we're back!

Gnarl: Wow it's been a while since we were a part of the intro…

Doc: It's been longer since I was actually in the story…

Snake: Doc complain too much…

Stench / Slash: Yeah yeah!

Lord Pain: Enough! List the companions and start the fic!

Jester: As you wish milord!]

_Companions_:

**Zim**: Inactive

**Tak**: Inactive

**Tora**: Inactive

**Grunge**: Inactive

**Manasa**: Active

**Slythe**: Active

**Panthro**: Active

**Azula**: Inactive

_Horde Size_: 5

_Active Minions in Horde_: 5 Greens

_Other_: 5 Primary Grays, 5 Primary Browns, 5 Primary Greens

_**NU**_: _**Dark Lord**_ +

_**Chapter 11**_: _**Lizard-Folk**_…

"Normal Speech"…

'_Normal Thoughts_'…

[Radio/Tower Heart In Use]…

"**Jutsu In Use**"…

"**Demon Speech**"…

'_**Demon Thoughts**_'…

"_**Inner Spirit Speech**_"…

(Under-Swamp…)

Panthro, Slythe, and Manasa are just outside of the Lizard-Folk's village, Naruto resting to the side, his breathing light. "Will milord be alright?" Manasa questioned while resting next to the unconscious blond, Slythe rolling his eyes while Panthro kept an eye on the village.

"Worried about your fiancé?" Slythe questioned with a frown and Manasa felt her eye twitch before giving him a look.

"It may not have been by my choice, but… but I will stand by milady's decision." Manasa replied and Panthro looked back at her for a moment before silently leaning forward and gazing out at the village. Seeing this, Slythe snarled and yanked Panthro back by his harness before glaring at him heatedly.

"What are you doing over there cat? Trying to alert them to our presence?" Slythe demanded in a low hiss and Panthro frowned before letting out a breath and crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm wondering how you expect us to get in there, me and the kids don't exactly fit in with the locals." Panthro replied and Slythe blinked before scowling as he rubbed at his chin for a few moments. "Not to mention that castle looks like it'll be a bitch to breach." Panthro added while looking to an evil looking castle that rested in the distance just beyond the village, and built into the side of the cavernous under-swamp.

"Getting inside of Castle Plun-Darr will be the least of our problems if we can't wake The Overlord!" Slythe growled out and Panthro nodded his head silently, still gazing out over the Lizard-Folk Village and Castle-Plun-Darr especially. However as he did, Panthro narrowed his eyes seeing a familiar squid-headed being slowly making its way out of the waters around the village and entering through them.

"Great, now ol' squid-face is here as well." Panthro grumbled with a deep scowl on his face and Slythe looked and growled low in his throat while watching the thing seemingly moving passed people without concern.

"What the blazesss is that thing doing here? And how does no one notice that it'sss breached the village?" He all but demanded in outrage and Manasa suddenly looked to them from Naruto's side.

"It'sss probably masked it'sss presence with it'sss powers." Manasa noted aloud and both Slythe and Panthro nodded their heads in agreement with her. The snake-girl then seemed to zone out as another though suddenly hit her and she looked to Slythe curiously. "Perhapsss he even took control of your Viathen?" She questioned and Slythe frowned before rubbing his chin for a moment.

"Possible, and it would certainly explain quite a few thingsss." Slythe admitted while Panthro looked to him, Manasa doing so as well. "Viathen was never the brightest sod in the village, but even he wasn't fool enough to break our alliance with the Naga. True he'sss a Xenophobe, but without the Naga we're completely cut off from trade routesss." Slythe explained, Naruto groaning and slowly getting up once he was finished. Moving over to her fiancé, Manasa helped the young Overlord climb up to a sitting position, as he held a hand to his head.

"Urgh my head… remind me not fight a dragon like that again…" Naruto mumbled under his breath and Panthro smirked while Slythe snorted.

"Any fool knows not to attack a Dragon head on like that… though I must admit I'm surprised you're still breathing. Consider yourself lucky, most would've been roasted alive if they did what you did." Slythe replied and Naruto slowly nodded his head before looking around, his five Green's moving to help him. Shaking his head for a moment, Panthro decided not to comment, though did have to agree that it was foolish to attack a Dragon head on, his people didn't believe in retreat so he actually respected the blond more for facing it head on.

"Yeah well… I hope you can forgive a Dragon for fighting another Dragon." Naruto replied while slowly rising to his feet, and then stumbling for a moment before Manasa helped steady him. Looking down, the serpentine girl giggled slightly seeing him trying to stand like he used too, but his feet weren't built like they originally were.

"Sire, you have Dragon Feet." She noted with a smile, Naruto grimacing mentally while rubbing his head. _'Great… now I'll have to get used to walking on my toes like a Dragon…'_ The blond haired Overlord In Training thought to himself while Slythe walked over and gave him a flat look.

"We also have another problem, that Mind-Flayer hasss infiltrated my village. And the girl suggested he hasss actually been controlling Viathen." Slythe explained and Naruto palmed his face, mentally grimacing before frowning in thought.

"Does that mean we don't have to kill Viathen then?" Naruto asked hopefully and Panthro rolled his eyes, Slythe scoffing before giving him a flat look.

"No, it just meansss we'll have to deal with that squid-faced freak before we do." The hefty Lizard-Man replied and Naruto grimaced while frowning to himself, and then thought about their options for a moment.

"So how are we going to get to Viathen with that Mind-Flayer around? I doubt any of us have much mental resistance to its powers… let alone enough to keep him back. And clearly even my Dragon-Kin blood won't help me stave his mind-powers off…" Naruto noted while rubbing his head with a grimace and Panthro rubbed at his chin for a few moments.

"That's not entirely true." Panthro noted and they all looked to him for an explanation. "You managed to move somewhat even when he used his powers, and I don't think it was actively controlling that Dragon it sicked on us." Panthro responded and Naruto blinked for a moment in confusion, Slythe hissing and glaring at him.

"Are you blind fool? That beast nearly devoured the lot of usss! Had it not been for the boy'sss physiology being asss sturdy asss it is we'd all be its bloody dinner right now!" Slythe growled at Panthro and he reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose before exhaling a breath.

"I'm not blind, but I'm wondering if you are Lizard." Panthro responded mockingly and the Lizard-Man hissed while both glared at one another.

"Yo, can we stay on track, what the hell were you talking about?" Naruto questioned of the cat and he crossed his arms over his chest while turning to the blond, Slythe growling as he walked over to the edge of the cliff to look down at his village.

"When I attacked you, I did so mindlessly and without thought of my own safety. That Dragon that attacked us was doing so as if we were encroaching on its territory. My theory is that the Mind-Flayer didn't control that beast, it just let it loose, it'd also make sense seeing as it was injured and obviously couldn't concentrate enough to use those powers on us, so why would it be able to control a Dragon in that state?" The blue-ish furred Cat explained and Naruto blinked before slowly nodding his head, seeing the cat-man's logic. Slythe however scowled, he also agreed with the explanation from the cat, and it was only because he _**really**_ disliked cats that he wouldn't admit to it…

"Even if that's the case, that Mind-Flayer will be healed by the time we manage to reach it, and it'sss powers restored. Besides, the boy wasn't able to fight when he got too close to it last time, why would it be any different now?" Slythe retorted and Panthro gave the Lizard an annoyed glare.

"Well maybe this wouldn't be such a chore if you'd stop thinking of ways to defeat our chances of victory…" Panthro growled at Slythe and Naruto twitched while wondering if this was going to be a common occurrence with the two.

_[Actually sire, that's very likely. The Cats and Lizards of our lands haven't gotten along since the old ages…]_ Gnarl suddenly noted and Naruto looked at Panthro and Slythe as they continued to glare daggers at one another.

'_Why's that Gnarl? I mean, what do they have against one another?'_ Naruto questioned of the Minion Master who chuckled nervously before answering.

_[Well… to be perfectly honest, The Drow enslaved both of their people about a thousand years ago. Among them, the Cats were used as gladiators and servants, some living with mages to learn their craft. While the lizards were forced into hard labor, growing strong as they dug the Drow their tunnels and built them their homes. Eventually The Lizards worked with The Cats and rose up against them, gaining their freedom.]_ Gnarl explained and Naruto blinked while watching as Panthro and Slythe continued to glare at one another, a low growl echoing in Pantrho's throat while a hiss echoed in Slythes.

'_Wait a minute… that sounds sort of like the Argonian's and the Kahjeet that Shin mentioned to me… weren't they also enslaved and have a strong racial dislike for one another?'_ Naruto questioned, having learned about them from Shin back when he was still training, as well as a few other races.

_[Actually… yeah, I forgot about that. But you are correct sire. Not surprisingly the Lizard-Folk are related to Argonians, and Cat-Folk to Khajit. The reason for their own dislike however stems from the fact that some of the early cats used their sorcery and combat prowess to defeat the more numerous lizards before taking the richest, most resourceful lands for their own and leaving all the other Beast Races with whatever they could scrounge up. Admittedly is was a very small faction, but they managed to rally the others to their cause]_ Gnarl explained and Naruto couldn't help a wince, if anything could piss off an entire race for a century, that certainly sounded like it…

Shaking his head of those thoughts, Naruto then slowly walked over to the two and got between them. "Listen, you two fighting is the last thing we need right now." Naruto stated and the two seemed to agree, though both glared at the other before turning away. "Now then, what we do need is a way into your village without anyone spotting us." Naruto stated while looking to Slythe and the Lizard-Man frowned in thought while rubbing at his chin for a moment.

"There are two waysss, one we could disguise you with a cloak or something and sneak in while leaving the cat and the girl out here." Slythe noted and Naruto thought that over for a moment before shaking his head.

"They could be caught by that Mind-Flayer if we did, and we'd still have no way of getting around the Mind-Flayer's mental powers." Naruto reminded him and Slythe nodded his head, only for them to stop as Koma flew out of his Faerie Satchel with Jinx.

"That's not entirely true, we might know a way around its mental powers." Koma noted and Naruto blinked in surprised before looking back to Slythe who grunted.

"My other idea isss to wait for night-fall, we could then enter the Village by using The Marshesss and the darknesss asss cover." Slythe then added and Naruto hummed for a moment before looking to Koma with a stern look.

"Are you sure you know a way to get around the mental abilities of that freaking Mind-Flayer?" He questioned of her seriously, and she nodded her head, Jinx merely flying over to land on one of Naruto's shoulders. "Alright, then while we wait for nightfall, you can tell us your method of getting around that Mind-Flayer's powers." Naruto stated while looking at Koma and she nodded her head before flying up high into the air and then looked around with a light hum. Spotting a glowing red section of the marshes to the far side of the Lizard-Folks section, Koma smirked while lowering herself down and crossing her arms in front of Naruto.

"We need to head that way, we'll find a tribe of Unseelie who know a ward that should protect us." Koma replied while Naruto frowned and gave the metal-unseelie a flat look at her wording.

"Should?" Naruto questioned while crossing his arms over his chest, Koma blowing a breath into her bangs before placing her hands on her hips.

"They're the Spirit-Unseelie Master, they have a Protective-Ward that cancels most forms of magic, including the kind used by Mind-Flayers." Koma replied while giving the blond a look, yet he didn't seem all too convinced.

"Alright, then just how many of your Unseelie are down here!" Naruto demanded with a twitch, Jinx nodding her head in agreement and Koma blew a breath into her bangs before crossing her arms.

"Well, there is one Unseelie tribe for every type of Faerie. There is Flame-Unseelie to match House Faeries. Metal-Unseelie to Match House Faerie Tinkers. Then there are Poison-Unseelie to match Sprites. Blood-Unseelies to match Nixies. Shadow-Unseelie to match Pixies. Spirit Unseelie to match the Seelie Court who rule over the other Faeries of Light." Koma explained and Naruto raised a brow at that bit, wondering how the Spirit Unseelie could possibly match the highest court of Faeries.

"So the Spirit Unseelie are the strongest tribe then?" Naruto asked and Koma hummed lightly for a moment before slowly shaking her head.

"Not exactly, master. The Spirit-Unseelie are better able to focus and channel their mana into various shapes and forms. They are also born with more of it than the rest of us, and it regenerates for them faster than the rest of us. But in terms of raw destructive power, The Flame Unseelie trounce them. In terms of death toll, The Blood and Poison Unseelie outweigh them. My own people are more physically able than them. And in terms of sheer number of abilities the Shadow Unseelie are still superior." Koma explained and Naruto blinked before nodding his head, understanding that there were many terms for what true power was, and that it couldn't just be stated or explained in any simple terms.

"Alright, then if no one has any objections…" Naruto started before looking to the others and was pleased to see that the three weren't objecting. "Good, then lets get moving then." Naruto stated while walking off in the direction Koma had pointed, Slythe, Panthro, and Manasa following behind him. As they did, a sudden thought came to Naruto and the blond turned to look at the Catman that was following him. "Hey Panthro, what are you doing down here? And how did that Mind-Flayer catch you?" Naruto questioned of the Cat-Man and he blinked for a moment before letting out a slight grunt.

"Me and a now ex-friend were looking for an ancient magical tome for our king." Panthro started, Slythe looking back for a moment before listening with clear interest. "We looked for years, traversing mountains and deserts while keeping out of sight of humans, but then one day not long ago… Grune decided he didn't want to work for the king anymore." Panthro started while crossing his arms over his chest with a deep scowl on his face. "He started mumbling about hearing voices before running off, and I found him making some kind of deal with a huge Scythe wielding wraith of some kind." Panthro continued and Naruto frowned, he didn't really like traitors, they made him really sick to his stomach.

Besides, in all fairness, once a traitor, always a traitor, if someone is going to double cross his home, then what's to stop him from double-crossing the person he was working for? However remembering that he was supposed to be listening to Panthro, Naruto shook his head and motioned for the cat to continue with his story. "I tried to confront Grune to knock some sense into him, but he and that wraith knocked me into a chasm… then I woke up not long after fighting you." Panthro explained and Naruto slowly nodded his head with a deep frown on his face. _'Gnarl, what kind of Wraith did that Grune guy meet with?'_ Naruto mentally questioned with a frown, as a friend of The Undead he didn't like where this was going.

_[It sounds like a Reaper; they exist in The Infernal-Abyss that The Betrayer controls. And if this idiot Grune is working with him, then the Cat-Folk are going to be in for a very nasty surprise soon enough.]_ Gnarl replied and Naruto hummed lightly while crossing his arms over his chest. _[But in any case, maybe you should ask about that book, who knows what we could do with an ancient magical tome!]_ Gnarl noted to himself with an insidious chuckle, Naruto practically able to hear the Minion-Master ringing his hands together evilly.

'_No… for one, if it took Panthro years and he never found it, it'll be an insurmountable task for us to try. Besides, I like Panthro, I know that I can at least trust him not to stab me in the back._' Naruto noted and Gnarl snorted before mentally shaking his head at his master's response.

_[You do realize there is no proof he won't, he is an enemy to the Lizard-Folk sire…]_ Gnarl reminded the blond haired youth who frowned deeply in response.

'_I have this way of feeling out how a person is, and generally speaking I'm usually right, so I can tell that Panthro is honest…'_ The blond haired Overlord in training replied and Gnarl blinked for a moment, wondering how his master could know that. As they walked towards the Spirit-Unseelie Naruto mentally commanded his five Greens to follow while looking down at himself with a frown. _'Also Gnarl, I'm in need of some new armor… __**badly**__ in need of new armor…'_ The blond mentally stated with a shake of his head and Gnarl hummed for a moment before replying.

_[Couldn't agree with you more Sire. And I think that you could also stand to learn the abilities of a Shadow-Knight…]_ Gnarl mused mostly to himself while Naruto blinked before frowning as he wondered what his Minion-Master meant.

'_Shadow-Knight? What's that supposed to be, Gnarl?'_ Naruto questioned of the Minion-Master and Gnarl chuckled lightly in his throat.

_[Well, in ancient times the Dark-Elves had a specific class of warrior that many Overlords loved to learn from and become. It was a branching specialization usable by warriors, rogues, mages, and even monks. It focused on using Shadow-Magic, Poison, and Necromancy, as well as the use of swords and other bladed weapons alongside light to medium weight armor, while not detracting from the overall speed of the user.]_ Gnarl explained to Naruto who frowned as he noted what that specialization sounded like.

'_Why am I suddenly thinking of The Death Knights?'_ Naruto questioned with a frown and Gnarl mentally blinked, unaware that his master was aware of the warriors from Azeroth…

_[That's a fairly accurate comparison. However, Death-Knights are undead and use heavy armor, Shadow-Knights are still among the living and use light to mid weight armor. They can resurrect the dead as zombies or skeletons, they can take control of some undead, and they can even raise an entire army of undead once their power grows strong enough. Add in their poison and Shadow abilities and you have a masterful assassin capable of taking out dozens of foes and then resurrecting them as his warriors.]_ Gnarl replied and Naruto mentally frowned for a moment, having a rather strong dislike for not only Death-Knights, but Lichs, and especially the Lich-King himself, due in no small part to his surrogate mother's influence on him in his early life.

'_Why would you suggest I become a Shadow-Knight? I thought I was doing well enough without a specialization…'_ Naruto noted while crossing his arms over his chest and Gnarl gave a slight grunt before responding.

_[Because your basic skill-set is Ideal for becoming a Shadow-Knight Sire. You would only need the proper training in Necromancy and you'd already be one. And really, even Archons have a Raise-Dead spell, not to mention every Mage Knows at least one Sensing Life spell and then even the bloody Soul Trap spell are from Death-Magic.]_ Gnarl explained to the blond who blinked at the death magic thing and frowned deeply.

'_Wait, so a bunch of common spells are branched off of Death-Magic, which would technically be a part of Necromancy?'_ Naruto questioned and Gnarl gave an affirmative to the blond haired Overlord In Training. _'So why do normal mages learn them then? I thought Death-Magic would be about as dark as it comes…'_ Naruto mentally noted and Gnarl silently agreed with him, as it was very well known that the worst of the worst were practitioners of Death Magic and Necromancy especially.

_[It's actually a bit of hypocrisy on the side of the light, sire. Mages also use Black Magic, which includes the destructive spells like Fireball, Lightning Whip, Hurricane, Earthquake, and the other destructive spells. Those are Black Magic. Meanwhile the old "Sense Life", Life Drain, and Raise Dead, are basic skills in Necromancy and Death-Magic. However, no Mage will ever admit to this because they would be perceived as evil just because they know it. The only truly White Magic are healing spells, protective shields, and water magic, none of which are good for combat.]_ Gnarl explained and Naruto frowned deeply at that tidbit, wondering why it seemed The Darkness was still better than The Light.

Naruto had, as a child of course, been an orphan who always thought things were a certain way. Good was Good, Evil was Evil, Monsters ate people and Heroes stopped them, and so on and so on. After he met Sylvanas all those years ago, his thoughts started to change. Most would call Sylvanas an abomination, a living corpse, and yet Naruto cared for her as if she were his own birth mother. He didn't see an abomination, and in truth, he saw a beautiful woman with a sad story to accompany her looks. Though it was still only _**after**_ meeting Gnarl and the Dark Races that he truly started to see the lie that those of The Light Races lived in.

They lived the lie without knowing that it was a lie, they just accepted that they were good and that there enemy, most often The Dark Races, were bad. This of course could not be so cut and dry with so many races amongst the Darkness, yet no one cared to look. Looking at The Light Races, at least on the surface, what you saw was a peaceful society who was defending themselves from monsters. You saw Warriors, Mages, Monks, and even Rogues all learning and perfecting their craft to protect the city they lived in. You saw simple commoners trying to make an honest living and government officials trying to keep the peace. And of course you also saw a religion that was always preaching of love and peace…

However, when you look beneath that, then you saw the truth of what The Light really was. Those so-called "Monsters" were beings that had no other way to live without fighting tooth and nail to do so. The Warriors, Mages, Monks, and Rogues were glory seekers who wanted to obtain wealth, fame, power, or some combination of them. You saw fearful people casting stones at beings that were just different than them, and political officials who did things they thought was right even at the sacrifice of true justice. And then you saw religious zealots who preach about peace and love while sending you to war against anyone seen as a heretic by their faith…

Admittedly, this was also a somewhat black and white view of The Light, and there probably were true heroes out there who did what they did because it was right. But the number of them was in a minority, and they were not as beloved as the heroes who sought out glory, money, or power. The Heroes who did what they did because it was right were also those who would butt heads with the politicians, those who wouldn't just kill the monsters who were trying to feed their families, those who would defend the races of both Light and Darkness without thought of reward, and those who would go against a religion that demanded such wars to continue. Those type of heroes were often thought of as villains themselves, and Naruto was starting to see that very clearly now…

It was also true of Darkness that some of the most vile creatures came from their ilk, The Drow being the most prominent example. Orcs who had been pushed into harsh terrain and became bandits and slavers up top were farmers down here. Goblins once exterminated like pests were now engineers. Naga who were hunted as monsters were now the seeming religious center of the Underworld. The Lizard-Folk who were often thought as Barbarians had a culture; it was just more brutal than The Lights. The Beast races thought of as monsters were, most likely, simple creatures trying to get by. The Drow on the other hand, their hate had turned them into the creatures they were accused of being, all of them were in fact prideful, spiteful, evil, slavers with a nasty attitude.

Yet again, not all black and white, he was sure that some Drow were probably different to others. He was also certain that out of the other races some truly vile people had come to power. The point was, that neither Darkness nor Light could really say it was all that great or all that bad. Both had there faults and both had their evils, and unless they somehow came to realize it, neither side was ever going to change. Naruto admitted that he could try to fix the mess with the Dark Races, but it could take decades for them to let go of the hate and prejudices against one another for the centuries of fighting and slavery between them, and it would be even longer to change those of The Light's minds.

"Master, are you alright?" Jinx suddenly questioned from the blond haired youth's shoulder and Naruto blinked before looking to her and smiled wearily.

"Yeah… just a bit lost in my thoughts." Naruto replied truthfully before noticing one of his Greens, Snake actually, quickly move over to the side. "Where is he going?" Naruto wondered to himself before following after him, soon coming to a large clearing with a plethora of small winged spherical shaped creatures… "What the hell?" Naruto mumbled while Manasa gasped as she saw the area, Slythe widening his eyes as Panthro cautiously walked forward.

"Wispsss!" Manasa declared while Naruto seemed more than a little lost and wished he'd learned more about the many creatures of the realms, as it seemed that Shin only taught him about a scant amount. _'Note to self, get Shin to explain more about these different species to me at some point.'_ Naruto mentally decided while Jinx and Koma flew from him and watched as the Wisps merely continued to float and flutter in the air.

"It's been a while since I've seen so many wisps in one place." Jinx noted to herself while Koma silently nodded her head, Panthro looking around as Naruto walked forward, several of the Wisps flying around him for a moment before quickly dispersing.

'_Gnarl, what are Wisps? They kind of look like faeries…'_ Naruto noted while holding out a hand, and was surprised when one of the Wisps hovered over his palm.

_[Wisps are what is known as Hitodama to your people Sire, they are lost souls exposed to Mana which have managed to survive the loss of their body. Given time, Wisps will eventually become either a Faerie or Unseelie if they were a child, or if they were a teen, a Dryad, Naiad, or Nymph, or if they were an adult, they'd become a Hollow Man, Ghost, or some other Undead.]_ Gnarl explained and Naruto eyes bolted wide open before looked to where Jinx and Koma as they were flying around.

'_We mourn our birth… because; it comes at the death of a child. That's why Kori didn't want to talk about it, what's there to celebrate about the death of a child, even for something as dark as The Unseelie.'_ Naruto realized as he looked to two of his faerie Familiars, and then shook his head and looked around to find Snake. Spotting the Green waving him over, Naruto followed it and found a Minion-Totem waiting for him. "Cool." Naruto mumbled before sweeping his Greens over to the object and they grunted while picking it up.

_[Ooh, an object, I like objects!]_ Gnarl noted and Naruto rolled his eyes as three of the minions carried the Minion-Totem over to a Waypoint Gate that formed nearby. Quickly placing the Totem down, with one of the greens accidentally having it crush on his foot with two more pulling him free, Naruto watched as the Totem gave a bright flash of light before vanishing.

"What the hell wasss that just now?" Slythe demanded while looking to where the Gate had appeared and Panthro looked more than a little surprised as well. Shaking his head for a moment, Naruto crossed his arms before swaying, a brief flash of yellow covering his form.

_[Master you can now summon Twenty Minions! Isn't that wonderful?]_ The old Minion-Master noted while Naruto chuckled lightly as he looked to his allies with a slight smirk on his face.

"It's a Waypoint Gate, I can use them to teleport across large distances." Naruto replied, Slythe grinning as he thought of the numerous ways they could use such a thing. Panthro however frowned and rubbed his chin in thought, also figuring that such an easy method for traveling great distances could be used to invade places… Manasa however tilted her head to one side while looking to the blond haired Overlord.

"If they can do that, why don't we just open one near Viathen?" She questioned of the blond haired Overlord in Training and he reached up to scratch the back of his head.

"Actually, I only seem to be able to open up Waypoint Gates in places I've been too first." The blond haired youth explained, Slythe frowning at the limitation, before deciding that it didn't really matter at the moment.

"Oh, I see…" Manasa mumbled while looking to her fiancé, Naruto turning on his heel and raising a brow upon spotting Snake waving for him to follow him. Following the Green, Naruto idly noticed one of the wisps following him, but decided to just ignore it. Soon coming into another clearing, Naruto was surprised to see a circular stone ring of some kind with a plethora of plants and of all kinds in it, a large hole in the center of it, from the ring were four more sections of plants extending out if it from semi-cicular platforms forming into different types of terrain for the plants to grow in.

Cautiously walking over to the object, Naruto hummed for a moment while rubbing his chin, and then looked over to Snake with a raised brow. "So it's an Overlord Object?" Naruto asked the green, whom nodded his head with his arms crossed and Naruto took a few steps back before sweeping the greens to the strange object. The greens tried to lift it up, but grunted and dropped its weight back down, Naruto frowning before seeing some Minion-Gates opened up nearby.

'_Well that's convenient…'_ Naruto mused while pulling 13 browns from one Gate, and 2 more greens from the other and swept them all to the strange ring-garden. The Minions grunted while lifting it up and then hefted it back along the path, Naruto crossing his arms as he followed after them. Soon coming back to the earlier clearing where Slythe, Manasa, and Panthro were waiting, Naruto watched as The Minions placed the ring garden down on the Waypoint-Gate, a couple of browns jumping back as it crushed their feet, and it to vanish in a bright flash of light.

_[Sire, you've located The Green Tribe Leaders Minion-Artifact, namely, his garden. With it he'll be able to concoct all manor of poisons for you while Doc can use it for potions and the like!]_ Gnarl declared boisterously and Naruto hummed lightly before looking to Koma who was still resting on his shoulder.

"Can we please head to the Spirit Unseelie now?" The tiny Unseelie questioned with a frown and Naruto nodded his head, Koma letting out a breath before flying into the air and then zipping off in the direction of the Spirit-Unseelie Tribe. Following behind her, the little wisp from before still following him, Naruto waved for his Minions, Manasa, Slythe, and Panthro to follow him as he walked through the swampy marshes of The Underworld. Soon coming towards a cave, Naruto noticed a bright red glow was coming from within it and frowned deeply. Spotting Koma biding him to follow, then quickly heading inside, Naruto crossed his arms and entered into the cave as well.

"Whoa…" Naruto whispered seeing dozens of different Unseelie zipping too and fro, appearing to be little more than glowing red spheres of light.

"Master, welcome to the home of the Spirit Unseelie…" Koma suddenly stated while motioning around and then smirked when she spotted one of the spheres of red light heading her way. "And allow me to introduce you to their queen." She added while motioning to the sphere as the light gave way and revealed another tiny-Unseelie, though she seemed shorter than Kori, Koma, or Jinx. "My friend Kiri, or as some of us call her, Argent!" Koma declared and the said Unseelie rolled her eyes before flying forward and circling around Naruto for a brief moment.

"So this is the Overlord then?" She questioned curiously, her voice carrying the same accent that Gnarl and the Gray Minions had. However Naruto then blinked as Kori, Kara, Duela, and Jinx flew out to "Argent" while Koma smirked and flew to float with the rest of her fellow queens, and Jinx.

"Friend Argent! Kori is most mirthful to see Argent once more!" The orange skinned Unseelie declared while clasping Argent with a hug, the said queen rolling her eyes before glaring at Kara.

"Kara." She stated simply and the Shadow-Unseelie crossed her arms.

"Kiri." Kara replied darkly and Naruto raised a brow, wondering why there was a sudden tension around the two. However, Jinx then flew up and rubbed her chin while looking at the new Unseelie Queen.

"You hate her too?" Jinx questioned while nudging towards Kara and Argent nodded her head with a raised brow. "Cool, me too, I'm Jinx, I specialize in Bad-Luck magic." Jinx stated while offering a hand and Argent smiled while accepting it.

"Name's Kiri love, most jus' call me Argent though. Means Silver in Olesian and the girls thought it matched my "lovely" skin-tone." Argent offered with air-quotes and a roll of her eyes, Jinx nodding her head as the silver-ish color of her skin was quite eye-catching if nothing else, along with her brilliant ruby red eyes. "I specialize is Spirit-Magic, mostly refers to Mysticism and Illusion Spells though. I know a few wards and charms as well, just nothing fancy." The Silver skinned Unseelie queen noted while Naruto looked at her, taking in her rather surprising appearance.

Her hair was black and branched out in a spider-leg style of spikes, with her red bangs held from her face with a black string tied into them, her eyes were a brilliant ruby red in color, with her lips painted deep scarlet (near black) in color, her skin was, as said before, a pale silver color with pointed ears, an A slashed into her chest at her collar bone, her physique seemed slim and wiry thus she didn't look especially strong or agile, while a pair of crimson wings that gave off a soft red glow were present on her back. She wears a black choker collar, a black leather corset with red lacing down the front, a red scalloped "skirt" tied at her hips with a slit down either side, bicep length fingerless black gloves, and red thigh length stockings with the toes and heel cut off.

"Excuse me, Argent?" Naruto questioned and the silver skinned Unseelie looked to him with a slight raised brow. "I believe that Koma wanted me to see if you would join us." Naruto explained and Argent hummed for a moment while tapping her chin with a thoughtful look on her face.

"Really now, an' why would you need little ol' me? You've already got a majority of the Unseelie queens as your familiars. I'd be a bit a' over kill don' you think." Argent noted while looking at the blond and Naruto reached up and rubbed the back of his neck.

"It's cause of a Mind-Flayer…" He admitted and Argent grimaced visibly before humming to herself for a moment.

"Alrigh' I can see how that'd be a bit of a problem for the other girls." Argent admitted while tapping her chin and then looked from the blond haired youth to the other Unseelie queens around him. "So then, 'ave any of you given 'im some kind a test to prove 'is worth yet?" She asked the other queens and they shook their heads in response, Argent letting out a breath when they did. "Thought so, really you girls are jus' too easy I swear." She noted aloud before flying in front of Naruto's face and crossing her arms over her chest. "Alrigh' here's the deal, mate. I'll follow you but ya have to pass a little test before 'and." Argent stated and Naruto blinked before slowly nodding his head.

"Alright, so what do I do?" He asked and Argent smirked slightly before sitting in midair and looking at her black painted nails.

"All ya' have to do is learn one spell from me. I know, not much of a challenge but it's more than I can say for the rest of this lot 'ere." Argent noted while nudging towards the other Unseelie, all of them giving her a rather scathing look while Naruto smirked in amusement.

"Alright, then what spell am I going to learn? And can we make it quick, we need to slip into the Lizard-Folk village after nightfall." Naruto asked and Argent hummed lightly while tapping her chin for a moment.

"Oh! Perhaps Master could learn the Force-Push, he is part Archon after all." Kori suddenly noted and Argent blinked before frowning and shaking her head.

"Nah, that'd be too easy. Force-Push and Repulse are all but bonded to 'is blood if he's an Archon. If he saw it he coul' probably copy it in just a tick. I think I'll teach 'im the Arcane-Blast instead and see if he can perfect it or at least add an element to it." The silver-skinned Unseelie replied and Kori pouted for a moment, Naruto grinning, as he'd wanted to learn that spell, as well as Force-Push really, for a while now. _'Ha! Spirit Unseelie rock!'_ He decided cause if he could learn the most basic magic manipulation spells from them, it'd be easier to learn more advanced elemental spells!

(Unnamed Human Settlement…)

A young boy with spiky / messy brown hair walks down a beaten path towards a two story home. On his head are a silly pink hat, and an old worn green backpack on his back. Reaching a hand up, the youth lets out a sigh while rubbing his head with a slight grimace, his buckteeth somewhat visible. _'Man, Fin really needs to stop talking about his imaginary adventures with his Dog. I mean yeah, he's a Mabari War-Hound, but Jake is still just a puppy!'_ The brown haired youth thought to himself while then looking to the home he shared with his family, the Fenton's. Looking around for his cousin Danielle, and not seeing her, the youth tried to remember where she was.

'_Lets see, I wanted to visit Fin, she convinced me to stop by and see Molly… saw Vicky on the way, evaded her with Dani's help, we found Fin who convinced us we were on an adventure to meet LSP, his weird nickname for Molly…_' The brown haired boy thought to himself while fiddling with one of his fingerless black gloves. _'Okay, we found Molly at her place, then Fin told us some of his wild stories about him and Jake going out on amazing adventures… but I swear man, he's got one wild imagination with the stories he manages to dream up!'_ The brown haired youth thought to himself with a shake of his head as he saw his approached his home.

Opening the door and entering the house, one Timothy (Timmy) Tiberius Turner walked into his shared home. "Wanda I'm home!" The brown haired boy cried while letting out a yawn as he walked inside and dropped his old worn green backpack to the ground. Nigh instantly a familiar pink blur lunged at the boy and seemed to hug his neck as he grinned nervously. Truth be told he was a little embarrassed by his Familiar's affection, admittedly, few Mage's in Thedas ever had Familiars but he still didn't think that it was exactly normal for them to hug you all the time or fuss over you and such.

"Timmy!" She said happily before releasing the hug and flew into the air, arms crossed behind her back. "So how was your day sweetie?" The Pinkette questioned curiously while Timmy hummed thoughtfully for a moment while walking inside.

"Well… Fin told outrageous stories again, Molly called him a liar, they had another fight, Danielle laughed and then I came home." Timmy replied with a shrug and Wanda snickered to herself, well aware of Fin's overactive imagination. Truthfully it wasn't really his fault, he was a Warrior Class, and technically an "Adventurer" at heart though he had yet to head out on his own due to only being thirteen and still living at the orphanage, where Vicky was unfortunately the matron.

"Oh those two, I swear you'd never know they were friends." Wanda noted mostly to herself and Timmy nodded his head in agreement, idly straightening out his maroon colored tunic for a moment before rubbing his chin.

"Could you imagine if his ideas were real? I mean c'mon! One of them is supposed to be a Vampire that eats red instead of blood!" Timmy stated with a shake of his head and Wanda shrugged, though inwardly snickered at the rather silly idea.

"Well I don't know about Red, but besides normal blood drinking Vampires I've heard of Psychic Vampires that eat your thoughts, and Magic-Vampires that eat Mana…" Wanda noted aloud while floating to Timmy's shoulder and sitting down on the young Apostate. Said youth shivered at the last one, having been a Mage since a young age he didn't really fancy meeting any of the latter types of Vampires any time soon.

"Wonderful, just one more thing for me to watch out for." Timmy noted mostly to himself and Wanda winced for only a moment before giving him a comforting look.

"Aw sorry Timmy, I sort of forgot how Thedas was for you." She noted and Timmy let out a breath while remembering about his days in Thedas. When he was five, he had started to have weird dreams, a week later; he accidentally used a fireball spell at dinner. However, rather than allow him to go to The Circle, his parents had sent him to live with his relatives The Fenton's, who were constantly moving around Thedas to explore old abandoned Ruins anyways and didn't mind his abilities. Quite the contrary actually, Jack and Maddie had been absolutely fascinated by his abilities, always asking to see new magic tricks, and had him using Healing spells to save on Health Potions.

'_They could be really dumb and clueless… but man do I miss them.'_ Timmy thought to himself, as Jack and Maddie had managed to get him, Danny, Jazz, and Danielle out of Thedas on a ship filled with Refugees heading north to escape the blight entirely, while he wasn't sure what happened to them afterwards, he hoped that they were both alright. Shaking his head of those thoughts, Timmy walked into the living room before stopping when he noticed "Jack" as he rested on the couch of there home. "Who's the stiff?" Timmy asked while nudging to the sleeping man and Wanda gave a huff while looking at the sleeping man.

"Danny brought him, he said he found him injured and asked me to heal him." Wanda replied and Timmy raised a brow for a moment before shrugging his shoulders and walked towards where Wanda was working on the clock from before. "Anyways Timmy, you know that Templars, The Chantry, and even The Circle of Magi don't exist here, it's not even like you have to hide your powers anymore." Wanda reminded the brown haired boy and he snorted before holding a hand out.

"Yeah well, my "powers" feel a lot thinner now… It's almost like I'm trying to thread a needle for some reason…" Timmy noted while concentrating with a frown as a tiny ball of fire formed in his hand, only to quickly be snuffed out as he let his concentration waver. "URGH! How do mages out here do it? I can't even feel the Fade or anything!" Timmy demanded while glaring at his hand with a frown, Wanda patting his shoulder comfortingly.

"It's okay Timmy, you just have to get used to how it's done out here, that's all. And don't forget, I'll be with you every step of the way!" Wanda assured and Timmy let out a breath before nodding his head to his familiar, then turned to see Danielle walking into the home and waving goodbye to Molly, the bright red Bandanna she wore over her head the most eye-catching thing about her besides her Heterochromatic eyes, her right one being azure blue, her left one emerald green. Not to mention that, if she had brown hair and blue eyes, she could easily pass off as Timmy's twin sister given the heavy family resemblance they shared.

'_Yeah, and our thing for headwear too…'_ Timmy mused while taking off his Pink hat to look at it for a moment, then gazed at Danielle with her red bandanna, before turning and leaning back into the wall of the living room. "See you latter Mol!" She cried out and Timmy rolled his eyes as his cousin then closed the door and walked inside with a yawn. Briefly stretching and then running a hand through her ebony hued ponytail, the girl turned and walked into the living room, then stopped upon seeing the sleeping Jack. "Who's the stiff?" She asked Timmy and the brown haired boy grinned slightly.

"Danny brought him, apparently he also had Wanda heal him." Timmy replied and Danielle (Dani) Fenton raised a brow while looking to the pink haired House-Faerie.

"I thought you could only take orders from Timmy?" She questioned and Timmy smirked while looking to his familiar, the tiny-house-faerie huffing.

"Well yes normally that's true, however as a House-Faerie I also have to listen to the Head of House as well, and that's Danny!" She reminded and both Timmy and Dani blinked for a moment before looking to her with frowns.

"But isn't Jazz the oldest?" They both asked at the same time and Wanda slapped her face before giving them a flat look in response. Timmy and Dani had lived together since they were five, and while the weren't twins, they were good friends and often enough partners in crime, with Dani however she was literally a thief and took anything she could find for Timmy to learn from, and with Timmy that meant sneaking around to have adventures together and healing Dani or himself when she got hurt on said adventures. Thus after years of living together, learning together, and playing together, it was no surprise that the two were also able to finish each other's sentences, or at other times, even speak at the same time.

"Yes, but is Jazz going to be the one called Fenton when she's married?" The pink haired faerie questioned of the two flatly and they inclined their heads in acknowledgement of that fact. "Besides, Jazz is overworked enough as is, Danny needs to take a little responsibility." Wanda said with a nod of her head as if that was that, Timmy and Dani smirking for a moment before turning to walk up the stairs and head to there shared room to do other things. Timmy would study his books and try to regain use of his Magic, while Dani would clean her grieves and knives. However, none of them noticed Jack opening one of his eyes for a brief moment as they left, and then closing it to return to sleep a second later…

(Under-Swamps…)

The sun had set, even in the Underworld this was plainly visible, however for the Spirit-Unseelie who generated there own light, this was no problem at all. Nor was it a problem for Naruto and his group, the blond himself finishing up with the Arcane Blast spell Argent wanted him to learn. Naruto held his hands apart while forming a mass of black-ish purple energy with specks of red flittering about it. _'Whoa… my raw-mana looks __**really**__ evil…'_ Naruto noted to himself with a raised brow before then turning on his foot and throwing his hands forward, hurling the Mana at a rock that exploded on contact with the sinister looking energy. Holding out his hands, Naruto looked to them and frowned upon seeing black smoke flowing off of them.

"That was actually quite impressive…" Argent admitted as she watched the blond haired Overlord in training, Jinx, and the other Unseelie queens all sat on a series of nearby rocks, Panthro and the others watching as well. Turning to them, Naruto lowered his arms and gave Argent a pointed look, the Unseelie queen merely rolling her eyes. "But I still wan' to see you combine Arcane-Blast with an element too mate." She then stated and Kori frowned while looking to the red-eyed Unseelie queen with a frown.

"Really friend Argent, why must master be tested so? Is Master's skill not great enough; is Master's magic not powerful enough? What is it that Argent seeks to see in Master that has not already been seen?" She questioned in her usual odd way of speaking and the ruby-eyed unseelie queen rolled her eyes for a moment before crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm making sure 'e's worth bonding myself to 'im permanently, unlike you lot I like being sure about someone's potential before I go straight to bloody bondage." Argent stated before groaning when she realized how suggestive that sounded, Duela outright laughing, while the other's merely snickered at the slip. Blinking at the slip, and not truly knowing of it's meaning, Naruto scratched the back of his head while looking to the assorted Unseelie.

"So uh… what element should I use with Arcane Blast?" He asked and Duela raised her hand with a wide grin on her face.

"Ooh ooh ooh! Combine it with Poison! That's makes a Poison-Bolt! It can be really useful it ya don't want to get too close to someone!" Duela offered while waving her arm around wildly, Naruto blinking before tilting his head to one side.

"Uh… honestly… I wouldn't know how to use Poison Magic… no one's taught me that yet…" Naruto admitted and Duela blinked before suddenly pouting, Kara letting out a breath before looking to her master.

"Then use Dark-Bolt, you just combine Arcane-Blast with Shadow Magic…" Kara offered and Naruto slowly nodded his head before taking a deep breath and spreading his arms outwards. Bringing them together he clasped his hands together and formed some Mana between them. Channeling some Shadow-Magic into the spell between his hands, Naruto watched as a twisting mass of shadows formed between his hands and then pushed the blast forward. The Shadow-Bolt flew from his hands into a rock where it then started to twist and form into numerous pointed vines that ripped and tore their way through the rock until nothing was left.

"It seems like you 'ave a gift for magic." Argent noted mostly to herself and Naruto blinked before rubbing the back of his neck.

"Really? Never noticed…" Naruto admitted, as he hadn't ever thought he was that good at using magic.

"Yes! That was a most excellent performance Master!" Kori declared boisterously and the other Unseelie gave their own variations, though thankfully they weren't as loud about it as the Flame Unseelie Queen was about most things.

"Right, now do you think I'm worthy of your time Argent?" Naruto asked while crossing his arms, and the ruby-eyed Unseelie Queen hummed for a moment while tapping her chin.

"Well, you 'ave managed to learn Arcane-Blast and mix it with an element… so I guess I 'ave to." Argent admitted mostly to herself before blowing a breath into her bangs and zipping over to Naruto. "But that don' mean much really, jus' that you impressed me a bit more than anyone else." Argent stated and Naruto raised a brow before watching her as she absorbed some of his magic like the others had, and then shook her head. "Alrigh' then, lets be off to the Lizard-Folk and get this Mind-Flayer then." Argent ordered while flying to Naruto, only to hum for a brief moment and then snapped her fingers. Instantly an assortment of her Spirit-Unseelie subjects flew around and chattered with her.

"What are you doing?" Slythe questioned with a frown and the Unseelie Queen shot him a look.

"Look bright eyes, master migh' be an Overlord, but he's still a boy. He needs a way to cross into your peoples castle without drawin' much attention to 'imself. He can't go out fighting every bloody Lizard now can he?" Argent reminded and Slythe grunted before watching as the Spirit Unseelie started to twist and turn and flew around Naruto, soon causing a glow to surround him, before a long tattered hooded red cloak covered his body, all but replacing his heavily damaged hooded scarf. Blinking for a moment, Naruto reached into the cloak to remove his scarf, then tossed the tattered piece of cloth to the side while taking his skull-shaped broach from it and clipped it at the center of the cloak to hold it closed and shadow his features.

"Why make him a cloak, why not just use a simple Glamour on him?" Manasa suddenly questioned of the Spirit-Unseelie and she placed her hands on her hips and gave the Lamia a flat look.

"He's got bloody scaled feet an' hands already don't he? This way we don' 'ave to worry 'bout their shamans seeing through the bloody Glamour when he challenges the Lizard-Chieftain." Argent replied while Naruto made his way over to a pool of water and looked at himself, raising a brow when he spotted a pair of brightly glowing blood red eyes within his cloak for a brief moment, before those faded back into his usual blue orbs.

"Then what about me or the little miss, she's got scales too but even then she doesn't resemble a lizard enough to walk around." Panthro noted and Argent nodded her head before muttering something under her breath and held out her hands. Beams of red energy then shot from her hands and surrounded both Panthro and Manasa, before shattering when their work was done. In the place of both now stood a pair of large red Lizard's, namely, a burly looking male and a young female Troglodyte. "What the blazes?" Panhro demanded while Slythe grinned darkly towards the male.

"I'm surprised, you make for a pretty good stone flinger Cat." Slythe noted and Panthro had to resist the urge to hurt the annoying Lizardman, Manasa however looking only mildly surprised by her new form… then pouting when she felt her now muzzled face for the first time.

"How do Lizardsss kiss with one of these?" She wondered while rubbing the end of her new snout and Slythe sneered in disgust. However before anyone could try and answer the Lamia turned Lizard, Naruto turned and walked over to Argent on his toes.

"What'd you just do to them? It seems like a Henge without the Smoke." Naruto noted while walking over to Manasa and tapping the end of her snout with one of his clawed fingers.

"Henge?" Argent questioned with a clearly confused look and Naruto turned and held his hands in a seal.

"**Henge!"** He declared and a large plume of smoke concealed his form, before it floated away to reveal a perfect replica of Panthro, in his natural state, standing where he had been only seconds before. Stretching for a moment and cracking his neck, Naruto then let out a yawn, smacked his lips and crossed his arms over his chest. "See, it's a basic transformation technique they teach back at the Academy, everyone learns it." The disguised blond explained while also using Panthro's voice, surprising all of them greatly with just how convincing the disguise was.

"Incredible, Glamour only changes the physical appearance, while yours actually changes your voice an' scent too…" Argent noted while zipping around the disguised Overlord with a very curious look on her face. "I mean yeah, there are a few spells to change your scent, voice, an' even your shadow but they take a lot more preparation than just one little hand-sign and spell!" Argent said and Naruto reached out and grabbed his new familiar by her wing with a frown on his face.

"Yeah yeah it's great an all, but my point is, _**this**_ is a Henge." Naruto stated and Argent slowly nodded her head while Slythe clicked his tongue for several moments.

"Please milord, is there a reason you generate smoke when you use the technique?" Slythe questioned of the disguised youth, Naruto blinking for a moment before shrugging his shoulders.

"I honestly don't know, they never taught me the finer points of Henge in the Academy, just showed me the hand seals and said to mould my Chakra into it…" Naruto replied and Slythe hummed for a moment, Panthro thinking to himself as well.

"You know, in a crowded street that smoke could act as a distraction, and when it goes off everyone will scatter, so when you run out of it as someone else no one would even notice and anyone chasing you would still be looking for the person who set off the smoke, not someone else." Panthro noted and Naruto blinked before thinking it over, and then frowned deeply. As he did, Slythe clicked his tongue for a moment while looking at the blond with an interested look on his face.

"Yesss, it's clearly an assassin and thievesss' technique, it was probably developed with the smoke for situationsss where one would have to escape capture from guards." Slythe noted aloud and Naruto mentally rolled his eyes before clearing his throat, getting the attention of both of them and gave them a flat look.

"Yeah, that might work, unless it's a basic academy Jutsu everyone knows…" He noted aloud and both inclined their heads, seeing how where Naruto was from that could most likely be a real problem, limiting the techniques effectiveness greatly.

"Regardless, it's still an amazing technique Master. I might 'ave to try an' learn it from you." Argent stated and Naruto rolled his eyes while releasing the Henge, instantly returning to his original form.

"I'm afraid that to learn it one must use Chakra, not Mana. Chakra is a fusion of Life-Force and Mana to create more potent energy, however according to Gnarl over extended use can result in one's death." Naruto replied and saw Argent pout as she flew over to the blond and sat on his shoulder.

"Aw… not bloody fair." She muttered and Naruto rolled his eyes before looking to Slythe with a deep frown on his face.

"Now we head to your people." Naruto stated and Slythe nodded his head before rushing off, Naruto letting out a breath before following, Panthro, Manasa, and his minions sticking close behind them. "Why are you in such a hurry?" Naruto questioned of Slythe and the Lizard-Man frowned for a moment before finally replying.

"Today isss the day of the Right of Challenge. Any warrior in the landsss may challenge our leader for his position." Slythe started while slowing as they approached the marshy swamps that circled the village of his people, as well as the notorious Castle Plun-Darr… "It isss a perfect opportunity for you to usurp control, asss Viathen cannot refuse a challenge from anyone or he would be seen as weak. Yesss." Slythe explained and Naruto looked at the large Lizard-Man with a frown on his face.

"Then why don't you challenge him?" Naruto questioned and Slythe shot him an incredulous look in response.

"I'm not daft for one! I know how strong Viathen isss and I'm not fool enough to try or he'd put my head on a bloody pike! Besides that, you are the one who has to take control of my people for your crusade, and Castle-Plun-Darr would make for a perfect place for you to work from." Slythe replied and Naruto blinked before looking to the said castle and felt his jaw nearly drop. The "castle" was built into the side of the cavernous walls around the under-swamp and shadowed by the ceiling of the Underworld, all manor of grim seemed to cover completely, it had what looked like pawed limbs reaching forward from under a large ugly looking horned dogs face with ruby red windows for eyes, a pair of large wings formed at either side of it and a large door at it's chest…

_[Oooh! I like the design! It's creepy, foreboding, and has that nice homey feeling that I've been missing without the old Tower's other Overlord's lived in! Really sire, if for nothing else, then conquer them so we can __**finally**__ have a place to stay that actually belongs to us!]_ Gnarl noted aloud and Naruto twitched mentally while staring at Castle-Plun-Darr for a long time, and then looked at Slythe with a serious expression.

"How the hell do you expect us to get in there?" Naruto all but demanded of Slythe and he grimaced before pointing towards the water around the castle.

"There's a sewage system over there, we can get inside from there." Slythe replied and Naruto shivered in disgust before placing a hand over his face.

"Why is there always in a sewer?" He asked seriously Panthro agreeing with him as it seemed everyplace in the world had a sewer system for thieves and assassins to crawl through.

"Doesn't matter, we had best hurry before the day is completely over." Slythe urged and Naruto nodded his head, only to stop and blink.

_[Uhhh Sire, you might want to place a guard-marker out here, if you don't then your minions will try to follow you into the water… but Minions can't swim… they'll drawn in an admittedly rather amusing way instead.]_ Gnarl noted and Naruto blinked for a moment before wondering why Minions couldn't swim. However deciding not to ask why he instead swept his Minions to the side and formed a Guard-Marker, smirking when he saw a Brown holding it up.

"What are you doing?" Slythe demanded with a frown and Naruto turned to him with a shrug of his shoulders, his familiars quickly slipping into his Faerie Satchel to stay dry during this underwater adventure.

"Minions cant swim…" He replied and Slythe blinked before shaking his head and jumping into the water, Naruto doing so as well, soon followed by Manasa while Panthro stayed back.

"Uh… I… I never really told anyone before but… but I can't swim." Panthro admitted and Slythe smirked towards the disguised cat.

"Really now? And here I thought the cat's couldn't get anymore pathetic." Slythe noted and Naruto let out a breath before looking to Panthro.

"Look, me and Manasa will help you Panthro, so come on and lets go kick that Mind-Flayer's ass." Naruto offered while holding out a hand to him and the disguised Cat slowly walked into the water, where Naruto and Manasa pulled his arms over their shoulders and helped him stay afloat. Swimming out towards the castle, Naruto then saw Slythe take a breath before diving underwater and looked to Panthro who was started to seem more and more nervous.

"J-Just make it quick." Panthro stated and Naruto nodded his head before all three took a deep breath before slipping underwater as well. Making their way towards where Slythe was, though their visibility was minor in the murky waters, they eventually came to a large underwater grate that Slythe was trying to open. Grunting, Panthro reached out for the gate and then braced himself while yanking on it, ripping it off of the castle. Quickly catching Panthro, Naruto and Manasa then swam inside of the castle behind Slythe, soon coming up for air.

"Well that wasn't so bad." Manasa mused aloud and Panthro spat out some of the swamp water before giving her a look.

"Says you…" He grumbled out and Naruto rolled his eyes before swimming after Slythe as he continued to move through the tunnels under Castle Plun-Darr. Approaching Slythe, Naruto watched him press a rock and a passageway opened up nearby, Naruto blinking for a moment as the hefty Lizard-Man made his way into the passage. Climbing after him and bringing Panthro to dry land, Naruto then helped Manasa up before all three rushed after Slythe as he continued to move through the castle. Passing by statues of fallen chieftains and all manner of strange and almost evil things, Naruto frowned to himself while they soon came out in a large hall of some kind.

"There'sss Viathen, he'sss finishing up with a challenger…" Slythe noted and Naruto looked to the current Lizard-Man chieftain and widened his eyes seeing that he was at least Panthro's size and build, dressed in sparse bits of armor and a loincloth.

"Un-Holy shit… you want _**me**_ to fight _**that**_?" Naruto all but demanded of Slythe and he rolled his eyes.

"Yesss, it'sss no more dangerousss than fighting a full grown dragon." Slythe replied with a smirk and Naruto twitched for a moment while Panthro looked passed them and rubbed his chin for a moment.

"Problem is we don't know where that Mind-Flayer is and he's arguably more dangerous than that oversized lummox Viathen…" The disguised cat noted and Naruto nodded his head before patting on his faerie satchel, Argent flying out as soon as he did to hover in front of him.

"Yes milord?" She questioned while looking at the cloaked blond and Naruto gazed at Viathen as he lifted a scrawny looking Lizard up over his head and tossed him around like he was nothing.

"We need the ward to protect us from that Mind-Flayer." Naruto explained and Argent nodded her head, whispered something under her breath and then formed a crimson red energy around each of their heads, forming a simple band of red energy around their foreheads that was covered by Naruto's crown, and Manasa and Slythe's headdresses.

"There, those are physical wards, they're a bit sturdier than charms and won' wear off for a while, they'll keep anything that Mind-Flayer's got out a your noggins." Argent explained before flying back into Naruto's hood to rest on his shoulder and look out of his hood.

"We should move out now, before The Mind-Flayer has more time to recuperate and before Viathen has a chance to end the Right of Challenge…" Slythe noted and Naruto nodded his head before looking over to Manasa.

"I want you to head with Slythe and Panthro, Manasa, I'll take on Viathen on my own." Naruto stated and the disguised Lamia widened her eyes before walking to him with clear worry in her eyes.

"You can't be seriousss milord! Viathen could kill you if you don't have me there to heal you…" She stated and Naruto nodded his head silently before turning on his heel and looking to where Viathen was.

"But Slythe and Panthro are both unable to heal, they also don't have magic to help them, I have my familiars with me… but Panthro and Slythe need to go with you, I want you three to deal with that Mind-Flayer while I deal with Viathen…" Naruto stated and Manasa looked to want to argue his order before Slythe walked forward and gave her a stern look.

"The challenge is single combat girl, you could not help him either way…" The Lizard-Man stated and Manasa looked to Naruto worriedly for a moment before nodding her head. Walking with them, Naruto watched them leave from the corner of his eye before seeing Panthro stop and turn to give him a look.

"Be careful kid. Don't need to come back from taking care of ol' squid-face just to find you dead…" Panthro stated and Naruto silently nodded his head before walking away as Panthro and the others went in search of The Mind-Flayer. Making his way through the many Lizard-Folk watching Viathen beat his many challengers, Naruto soon came to the innermost ring and took a deep breath as Viathen literally broke the back of his most recent challenger then roared loudly.

"Who else challenges the mighty Viathen for the right to rule?" The enormous Lizard demanded and Naruto walked forward and glanced at Viathen out of the corner of his eye, then turned to face him.

"I do." Naruto stated and Viathen grinned before laughing loudly, several other Lizard-Folk doing the same. Crossing his massive arms, Viathen then looked down at the blond haired youth with a mocking grin on his face.

"Oh really? So now even little children are lining up to die?" Viathen questioned with an arrogant grin on his face then held a fist in the air. "I am Viathen, Chieftain of the Lizard-Folk, wielder of the Sword of Plun-Darr, killer of the dread-beast Draknoia, and the most powerful warrior in all the Underworld! None can stand before my might!" The behemoth declared loudly and Naruto held out a hand, his silver-white scales catching the light and shining faintly.

"A child I may be… but I'm still more than powerful enough to take down an oversized lummox like you." Naruto replied while flexing his talons and watched as a sneer worked it's way across Viathen's features.

"You will regret that insult, whelp. Since you wish to challenge me like a man, you shall die like one as well!" Viathen growled out and Naruto allowed the shadows of his hood to reveal the bone mask he wore. His eyes then seemed to turn bright crimson red and he slowly walked towards the massive lizard.

"I'm looking forward to seeing you try to make good on your threats." Naruto noted mockingly and Viathen sneered towards the young blond before cracking his neck and reached to his side, pulling a strange gold charm of some kind that resembled several snakes coiled together with their heads pointed inwards.

"Your mouth only serves to get you in more and more trouble, whelp… I see I'll have to rectify that." Viathen growled out while the strange charm gave a strange hissing sound as it partially uncurled into two double-headed snakes coiling around one another and extending into twin guards for a sword, a pair of enormous flame shaped serrated blades shooting out of either end and catching a flame soon after…

"Unholy shit…" Naruto mumbled under his breath with wide eyes. _'I've __**really**__ got to watch who I insult in the future…'_ The blond thought while reaching back and unsheathing his Tanto from the back of his waist, Viathen giving a roar as he lunged at the blond with a swing of his strange double-bladed sword…

(With the others…)

Slythe, Manasa, and Panthro made their way through castle Plud-Darr as quickly as possible. "Were do we look for the Mind-Flayer?" Manasa questioned of Slythe and he scowled for only a moment before grinning.

"The only place that thing could hide isss in The Sword Chamber. No one isss in there most of the time and with the challenges happening I'd say Viathen took the sword with him." He replied while Panthro grimaced visibly, well aware of just how powerful that sword was. _'Almost feel sorry for that kid, but he's tougher than he looks…'_ Panthro mused inwardly as they ran through the castle behind Slythe, the husky Lizard-Man soon sliding to a stop before a large doorway with a symbol that resembled an 8 made by a double headed snake.

"Here! Let usss end thisss now!" Slythe declared while pulling his mace free, Panthro retrieving his Nunchaku and Manasa gripping her staff. Kicking the doorway open, Slythe then walked inside, the Mind-Flayer visible at the back of the room. "Aha, so I was right after-all." Slythe noted as he walked forward, The Mind-Flayer merely looking to them before holding its arms up. It seemed to try and do something, only for Slythe to grin while tapping his head. "You're not controlling us this time insect!" Slythe stated before lunging forward with a roar, the Mind-Flayer moving his hands to the side and bringing them inwards.

Instantly several Lizard-Men lunged from the shadows at either side of them, Panthro growling as he twisted his Nunchaku around and too a stance. Narrowing his eyes, Slythe kept his eyes on the Lizard-men as they quickly surrounded them, Manasa looking around worriedly. "Wonderful, he even hasss Viathen'sss guard under his control asss well." Slythe muttered while Manasa quickly formed a shield around them with her powers just as the Lizard-Men tried to attack. Seeing the Mind-Flayer trying to escape while they were preoccupied, Slythe scowled before looking to the serpent girl. "Lower the shield! The squid is getting away!" Slythe snarled and Manasa reluctantly did as ordered, Panthro moving quickly and knocking several Lizards away.

Hissing low in his throat, Slythe lunged forward, bowling over several of the Lizards and chased after the Mind-Flayer as it tried to make its escape. Seeing this, Panthro let out a grunt while grabbing two Lizards and slamming their heads together, Manasa forming a shield around herself to keep from being over-run. Taking in a deep breath she then twirled her staff before bringing it down into the ground a large cloud of purple poison expanding from her as she brought the shield down. Several of the Lizard-Men started to hack and cough as the poison quickly weakened them.

"Sorry…" Manasa mumbled as they lay on the ground, Panthro running at her and grabbing her under one of his arms.

"Apologize later, we've still got a squid to deal with…" Panthro reminded while running in the direction that Slythe had went earlier, entering into a long hall. Looking around, Panthro growled as more Lizard-Men lunged at them from behind, twisting into a kick that barreled several of them over before quickly moving back into a sprint. Looking all around for the husky-lizard-man, Panthro soon saw Slythe beating back several Lizard-men with sword, grunting as some of them managed to cut into him. "Think you can fix that?" Panthro asked Manasa and she nodded her head while Panthro lunged forward with the girl still under his arm.

Waving her staff towards Slythe while mumbling a spell under her breath, Manasa smiled upon seeing the lizard-man's wounds heal over. Panthro then rammed his way through the Lizards and gave a quick look to Slythe, who sneered toward him and Manasa. "Come! We mustn't dawdle!" Slythe snarled out before running off, Panthro frowning as he put Manasa down and looked to her.

"You did good kid." Panthro offered and she smiled to the disguised cat gratefully before both ran after Slythe. Swinging his Nunchaku into several Lizards, Panthro then saw Manasa twist around several Lizards while slamming the ends her staff into several of them along the way.

"I-I'm not really trained for combat like thisss." She noted while following Panthro and he silently nodded his head before snarling as he saw the Mind-Flayer and Slythe up ahead of them. Lunging forward, Panthro ran along the sides of the hall and jumped ahead of both, quickly catching the Mind-Flayer's neck with his massive arm.

"Got ya!" Panthro growled out darkly while Slythe and Manasa slid to a halt and turned as more and more Lizard-men approached them. The Mind-Flayer struggled in Panthro's grasp as he applied more and more pressure onto its neck his eyes narrowing dangerously. "This is for controlling my mind, you squid-faced freak!" Panthro growled out while snapping the Mind-Flayer's neck with his arm, the creature twitching for several moments before falling limp. Dropping the Mind-Flayer, Panthro then looked up towards where the Lizards were heading for them and narrowed his eyes as they swayed for several moments before falling to the ground unconscious.

"Good, itsss control hasss been released. Now we should return to the young Overlord and see if he'sss managed to take out Viathen." Slythe noted while Manasa looked to the husky Lizard-man with a worried frown on her face.

"W-What about the Lizardsss I poisoned? Shouldn't we help them?" The young crimson-scaled Lamia girl suddenly questioned and Slythe scoffed, but Panthro placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You and I will go heal those Lizards, while Slythe can head back down to watch the Overlord. We'll meet back together when we finish up here." Panthro offered and Slythe walked off while mumbling something to himself under his breath…

(Back with Naruto…)

Naruto mentally cursed while dodging and twisting around slashes from Viathen's strange flaming sword. Holding up a hand to block the blade, Naruto hissed in pain as it actually managed to slice through his scales, leaving a bleeding gash on his right arm as he quickly flipped back and away from the behemoth. _'Shit that hurt! Gnarl, how the hell did he cut through my scales?'_ Naruto demanded of his Minion-Master while watching Viathen grip his head in pain. _'Looks like the other's got the Mind-Flayer.'_ He noted to himself while watching the behemoth carefully as he stumbled for only a moment, teeth gritted and a look of pain etched across his features.

_[Sire, be careful of that blade! That's the fabled Sword of Plun-Darr, it's an enchanted blade of extreme repute amongst the Races of Darkness. It can cut through mountains; a dragon's scales would be but a simple matter to deal with!]_ Gnarl warned while Naruto saw Viathen open his eyes and roar before lunging forward like a raging bull. Widening his eyes, Naruto rolled out of the way as Viathen lunged forward and slashed his blade through a pillar, several Lizards running away as he did. Rolling into a low crouch, Naruto narrowed his eyes while watching Viathen as he came charging at him once more.

'_Come on, there has got to be a way to stop this guy…'_ Naruto thought to himself while dodging and weaving around numerous slashes from the behemoth, his eyes partially glazing over as he remembered Sylvanas' teachings. _"Remember, the thing you want to watch for is the end of your enemies consecutive attacks. Wait for the moment between the start of the consecutive attack cycles…"_ Her voice echoed in his head as Naruto started to watch Viathen's moves, keeping note of how he moved while swinging his blade at him and saw a brief pause in his swings. _"At that point your enemy will be completely vulnerable…"_ He remembered and Naruto took a breath, dodging and evading several more strikes before lunging forward and swinging his twin tanto upward, and slicing through Viathen's flesh.

Roaring out in pain, Viathen kicked out at Naruto, throwing him back a ways, the blond flipping back into a crouch while Viathen roared. Lunging forward the Behemoth showed impressive agility as he jumped high into the air and swung the Sword of Plun-Darr at Naruto from above. Rolling out of the way, Naruto threw one of his Tanto at Viathen, the blade lodging itself into his upper arm, the brute grunted in pain before glaring at Naruto with a furious snarl. Lunging at him once more he swung his blade at him only for Naruto to vanish in a plume of smoke as Viathen's blade came in contact with a large rock instead.

'_Got to love Kawarimi!'_ Naruto thought to himself with a grin while appearing behind the brute and threw his other Tanto, hitting him square in the back, right between his shoulder blades. Roaring in pain, Viathen tried to reach back for the blade for only a moment before rounding on Naruto with a furious snarl. "I'll break you in half runt!" He snarled while lunging at him furiously swinging his sword at the blond haired youth wildly, only for Naruto to get in close and blow him back with an Arcane-Blast. Grunting in pain, Viathen then looked up towards the blond haired youth with wide eyes. "You're a mage!" He demanded and Naruto chuckled lightly while raising his hands, shadows arching upward all around him, the watching lizards moving back as he did.

"Not exactly, but your not wrong either…" Naruto replied while bringing the shadows inward in order to cover everything in darkness. Growling darkly, Viathen ignited the Sword of Plun-Darr and look all around for the blond haired youth.

"These shadows won't protect you whelp, I'll fillet you yet!" Viathen exclaimed with a snarl and Naruto allowed a low chuckled to echo in the darkness.

"My dear Viathen… you seem to think that I'd actually allow myself to get close enough to you that you could do me harm… sadly for you, I am in not that stupid." Naruto noted aloud while Viathen growled low in his throat then actually yelped as a bolt of lightning wrapped around the Sword of Plun-Darr. Releasing his hold on the blade, Viathen watched it fly into the air, before the serpents that made up its hilt retracted and coiled together. The weapon then fell somewhere as the darkness finally started to recede, Naruto holding the Sword of Plun-Darr's hilt. Seeing this, Viathen let out a laugh while watching as Naruto held the blade in the air.

"What do you think you'll do with that? You have no idea how to use that blade or it's power!" Viathen growled while lunging at the blond haired youth and swinging his claws at him wildly. Grunting, Naruto twisted and weaved around the strikes, soon flipping back and kicking off of a pillar to knee Viathen in the chin then flip off of his shoulders into a flip to land behind him. Turning around to see Viathen all but shrug off the blow, Naruto looked to the Sword of Plun-Darr with a deep frown. _'How did that brute use you?'_ Naruto wondered while trying to use his Mana, his thoughts, and even his Chakra to rouse the weapon yet it still slept.

Turning, Naruto quickly jumped out of the way of Viathen as he slammed his hands into the ground, smashing the earth. Widening his eyes, Naruto then moved quickly to dodge around Viathen as he continued to try and rip into him. Sliding under the brute a second later, Naruto then slashed into his leg with his talons, the brute roaring and falling to one knee. Snarling the brute then swung his tail, knocking Naruto to the side with unreal force. Grunting as his back slammed into a pillar, Naruto then looked towards Viathen as he started to get back up, a lesson from Sylvanas playing before his eyes as he did so…

_(Past…)_

_Naruto sits next to Sylvanas; he is ten years old and has been learning from the woman every winter for the passed three years now. She never told him why she only came to visit during the winter, and Naruto never felt the need to ask her. If she had a reason for doing so, he'd learn it from her eventually. Looking to the undead high-elf, Naruto crossed his arms behind his neck and grinned. "So Sylvanas-Hime, what are we going to do today?" The blond asked her while crossing his legs, Sylvanas looking to him for a moment before closing her eyes._

"_Today I teach you one final lesson, one that you will need to survive." Sylvanas replied while pushing herself up and walking across from him. Blinking for a moment, Naruto tilted his head to one side while gazing at the woman's back._

"_What? You've already taught me how to hunt, track, stealth, prepare my food and such, what else do I need to know?" Naruto questioned and heard a familiar sound, thus rolled back while pulling Victoria free as Sylvanas turned, Gloria held in her hand._

"_No little one, this is your most important lesson. While you could starve, I have prepared you for that, while you could get lost, I have also prepared you for that, and though you are small, I have also prepared you to use that as an advantage rather than a weakness…" Sylvanas started to say before holding Gloria forward and narrowing her crimson red eyes on the blond. "Now I prepare you to face the threats that will never back down… the threats that will come at you again and again without relent." Sylvanas stated before lunging forward, Naruto cursing as he caught her blade with his own._

"_Wha… b-but what kind of threat would do that?" Naruto questioned while rolling back out of the way of the blade and Sylvanas gave him a strange look._

"_What kind of threat did you face the day we first met?" She questioned and Naruto looked at her for a moment before looking down. "Yes, that kind of threat, the kind you can't talk to or reason with, the kind who are bent on your destruction. If you are ever to truly face them, then you must have something more than what you have right now…" Sylvanas declared while lunging forward and swung Gloria into Victoria once more, Naruto gritting his teeth as he had to use both hands to hold the undead queen of the forsaken back._

"_But… but I don't understand, why do I have to be prepared for that? I mean, yeah I have the occasional drunk and all but…" He started to say before grunting as Sylvanas kicked him back and gave him a stern glare._

"_Maybe, maybe not, but you have started on the path of a warrior. You need this more than anyone, you must understand, and it seems that the only why I can do that, is if I push you and push you until you finally snap!" Sylvanas replied while lunging at the blond haired youth, swinging her blade at him wildly as he twisted and dodged it. "See, I'll just keep pushing you and **pushing you**… I won't let up and I won't back down, you have to attack, you have to be the one to make me stop so do it already!" She ordered and yet Naruto seemed conflicted, Sylvanas frowning before twisting on her heel and kicking the blond, knocking him back into the woods. Shaking her head, the woman walked after him and then looked down to see him staring at her with wide eyes._

"_I'm disappointed, so **very** disappointed… Sadly, you're only showing me how much **fear** you have…" She noted while walking towards the blond, Naruto gulping while rolling back onto his feet and running into the forest to hide. "When you counter, it's because you fear being killed… When you attack, you fear killing… And when you try to protect someone, you fear you could let them die…" She stated while closing her eyes and listening to everything around her, then turned towards a specific tree. "At this point, the only thing you're showing me is **senseless fright**… And that's **not** good, what you do not need in battle, is **fear**… Nothing will come of it…" Sylvanas continued to state while approaching the tree and quickly slipped around it and swung he blade at Naruto, the blond vanishing in a plume of smoke._

"_When you counter, you **don't** let 'em cut you…" She stated while turning and avoiding Naruto's blade as he dropped down from the air. "When you protect someone, you **don't** let 'em die…" She continued to explain while lunging at the blond haired youth once more, Naruto dodging and weaving around her attacks before seeing an opening. "And when you attack…" She began while Naruto instinctively took then chance and moved his blade to strike, yet fell short, stopping a fraction of a second before he would've sliced through her neck. "**Kill**…" She stated ominously and yet Naruto backed away from her with a conflicted look across his face._

"_I could never… I just **can't** hurt you Sylvanas-Hime…" He mumbled and Sylvanas merely kicked him in the chest, the blond rolling back before slamming into a tree while she walked forward._

"_It isn't a matter of what you want, or what you can or cannot do… it is what you **must** do in order to survive. Understand?" The blue-skinned undead elf explained half questioned while looking down at the blond and raising Gloria into the air. Looking to the woman, Naruto saw the blade she wielded and could almost swear it was glowing in the dim-light… "Can't you see? Right now, my sheer resolve to kill you is reflected in this blade." Sylvanas continued to say before flicking her wrist downward and sent Gloria flying, the blade imbedding itself beside of Naruto's cheek, his wide eyes slowly turning to look at it._

"_You need that in order to surpass me, you need that in order to meet with those who will not give up, who will not surrender. You need it in order to move through them no matter how much you wish it weren't true. What you need is, **Resolve**." Sylvanas explained to the blond haired youth while walking forward, then turned and sat down beside of him, idly reaching up to remove Gloria from the tree and hold it forward for a brief moment._

"_I… I don't think I c-could ever…" Naruto started to say before Sylvanas turned and held the blade at his throat, her burning red eyes glaring into his azure-blue orbs._

"_You need it, because I will not always be here to take care of you, and when that time does finally come, it must be you who takes care of yourself…" Sylvanas stated and then collapsed Gloria before slipping it into her pack with a soft sigh. "Someday, you'll find your resolve Naruto, and when you do, no one and nothing will ever stand in your way ever again." Sylvanas finished while gazing out into the distance, Naruto gazing at her face silently for a moment, before turning to look into the distance with her… _'I hope your right, Sylvanas-Hime…'_ The blond haired youth thought to himself as the sun went down in the distant horizon…_

As the memory faded from his mind, Naruto looked to Viathen, his eyes giving off a brighter glow than normal. "Now die!" The behemoth roared while coming at him and slamming his fist into the ground, kicking up dust and debris while shattering the ground. Grinning to himself, Viathen then scowled as the dust cleared and Naruto was a short distance away from him. "You are a truly stubborn brat…" He noted with a scowl while Naruto slowly rose to his feet and held out the Sword of Plun-Darr, his eyes narrowing onto the behemoth. Steadying his breathing, Naruto then glared towards Viathen and pushed as much power into the sword as he could.

The blade seemed to roar to life, the snakes at it's hilt uncurling while two long machete style single-edged blades formed out of it, lightning crackling and arching along the twin-blade's lengths. Inhaling a quick breath before letting it back out, Naruto then narrowed his now crimson eyes onto the enormous Lizard-man. "Sorry to keep you waiting, I've finally found my… resolve…" Naruto stated while twirling the Sword of Plun-Darr in his hand and then swinging the blade a burst of lightning flowing from its length directly at Viathen, the behemoth quickly lunging out of the way.

"What the hell… how did he awaken the sword?" Viathen demanded before turning with wide eyes as the blond came at him, his bloody crimson eyes glowing within the shadows of his hood, and quickly swinging a fist and sending a lightning-whip at him.

"This time, I will get you!" The blond growled out while Viathen shrugged off the lightning and swung his claws at the blond haired youth. Twisting out of the way while a section of his cloak was ripped, Naruto kneed the behemoth in the face. _'When you counter, don't let 'em cut you.'_ The blond thought to himself as he then twisted into a kick, Viathen stumbling back from the blow, before lashing out with a tail whip. _'When you protect someone, don't let 'em die.'_ Naruto thought while grabbing hold of Viathen's tail and slicing it off, the mammoth Lizard roaring in pain while Naruto landed in a low crouch across from him.

"**And when you attack you…"** Naruto continued aloud before lunging at Viathen once more, the behemoth snarling as he sent a claw right at him. However he then widened his eyes as his claws only managed to rip his facemask apart, the pieces of bone and leather falling to the ground… **"**_**Kill.**_**"** The blond growled out while swinging the Sword of Plun-Darr upward, piercing Viathen's jaw from below straight up through his head. Taking in deep breaths Naruto saw Viathen move his jaw for several moments before his eyes rolled into the back of his head. _**'This is my resolve. But… what have I become in order to find it?'**_ Naruto thought while pulling the sword from Viathen and quickly rolling back and out of the way as the behemoth fell forward.

Taking in several labored breaths, Naruto then placed a hand over his face for a moment before turning to look to the throne of Viathen. Narrowing his eyes, the blond haired youth then walked forward, absorbing the Life-Force from Viathen and whipping his hood back to reveal his hair was now half white from the tips and half blond to his roots. Ignoring the looks of the Lizard-folk for a short time, Naruto then stopped in front of the throne and turned with a flourish of his cape, his glowing crimson eyes narrowed dangerously. Letting out slow steady breaths, Naruto then twirled the Sword of Plun-Darr for a moment before holding it in the air and glaring at the Lizards who were looking at him in a combination of shock and awe.

"**Anyone else who wishes to fall may come forward and face my resolve! But be warned, I am no child and no ones victim…"** The blond started before pausing to sit in the throne and look around at the lizards and spotted Manasa, Slythe, and Panthro in the back. **"I am… **_**THE OVERLORD**_**!"** The blond haired youth roared out while fire and lightning roared to life along his new double sided / bladed sword as he dug it into the ground, the lizards being silent for only a moment before cheers roared to life all around the blond haired youth…

TBC…


	14. BeastFolk

**Disclaimer**: I own anything within; this story is merely a way for me to alleviate boredom…

[Lord Pain: And so we return yet again.

Gnarl: Indeed master, soon the world will tremble in fear of your wake!

Jester: All hail! Lord of Castle Plun-Darr!

Giblet: Hail!

Jester: Rescuer of the Stealth Army!

Slash / Stench: Here here!

Jester: Scaliest of all Overlords! Ha ha ha!

Doc: Oh he really shouldn't have said that…

Lord-Pain: … Naruto's so going to kill him for that crack…]

_Companions_:

**Zim**: Inactive

**Tak**: Inactive

**Tora**: Inactive

**Grunge**: Inactive

**Manasa**: Inactive

**Slythe**: Inactive

**Panthro**: Inactive

**Azula**: Inactive

_Horde Size_: 0

_Active Minions in Horde_: 0

_Other_: 5 Primary Grays, 5 Primary Browns, 5 Primary Greens

_**NU**_: _**Dark Lord**_ +

_**Chapter 12**_: _**Beast-Folk**_…

"Normal Speech"…

'_Normal Thoughts_'…

[Radio/Tower Heart In Use]…

"**Jutsu In Use**"…

"**Demon Speech**"…

'_**Demon Thoughts**_'…

"_**Inner Spirit Speech**_"…

(?)

A girl sits in a cell with her arms lifted up and crossed over her legs, her yellow eyes half closed, and a worn smock covering her form. Looking up at a sudden sound, the girl narrowed her eyes at seeing an elf with pitch-black skin and white hair approaching her cell. Stopping before the cell, the elf looked down at her with crimson eyes for a moment before slipping a plate with some bread on it into her cell. "Don't even see why we're keeping a little freak like you alive…" The Drow muttered to himself as he walked away, the girl watching him leave before a sly smile slipped across her lips. Slowly moving forward, she reached out and took the bread before quickly moving to the very back of her cell.

Looking at the bread inquisitively for a few moments, the girl narrowed her eyes before sneering in distaste. "This is barely fit for the birds…" She mumbled to herself with narrowed eyes before taking a bite out of it and ignoring all else as she silently chewed. Her eyes then started to zone out as she did, before she leaned back into the wall of the room with a thoughtful look on her face. Drumming her fingers into the stone flow she then nodded her head silently before looking up and spotting a barred window was just overhead.

Breaking off a piece of the bread, the girl then stood up on tiptoes then reached up and pulled herself up a bit more. Looking out with her eyes she then reached out of the bars in the window to hold the piece of bread out. Flying through the air above this place, a speck of black darts around before spotting a small patch of pale green. Letting out a caw, the spot of black dives down, an old crow landing on the pale-green wrist of the girl while pecking the bread and chewing it in its beak. Smirking devilishly, the girl brought her arm back into the cell slowly and then turned to lower herself back into a sitting position, lightly stroking the birds feathered head with her finger as she did so.

Reaching her hand up to brush some of the ivory white hair from her face and slip it behind her pointed ear, the girl cooed as the crow looked up at her. Leaning down she whispered into the bird's ear, then tilted her head to one side with a raised brow. "Can you do that for me pet?" She questioned in a surprisingly calm and collected tone of voice and the Crow silently nodded its head to her. "Good, then be off with you." She murmured while stroking its head and standing up, the girl lifted her hand up and the bird flew out of the cell and into the distance leaving her behind. As soon as it was gone, the girl sat back down and picked up the remainder of her bread with a frown.

(Castle Plun-Darr…)

Gnarl stood outside of the throne room of Castle Plun-Darr, a frown on his face as he silently stroked his goatee. They had all but immediately come to Castle Plun-Darr after Naruto's victory over Viathen. And now, for the first time in _**many**_ years, they had a home, a master, and a kingdom again. _'Ahhh… it does my old black heart good just imagining the evil master will unleash someday.'_ Gnarl thought with a mental snicker, already picturing conquest after conquest and an entire nation bowing at his young Overlords feet. However, the old Minion-Master then frowned as he looked to the door that led to the throne room, where Naruto was currently locked inside. He had done so two days prior after beating Viathen, and hadn't come out since.

'_But why has the master locked himself in there all alone?'_ The old minion master wondered to himself before frowning deeply and turning to look to a few guards at either side of the doorway to the throne-room. "If the master comes out I want to be alerted immediately." Gnarl ordered and the two browns snapped to attention and saluted the old Minion-Master as he turned and stalked off with a frown across his face. Looking around, Gnarl made his way towards the lower levels where The Servants Quarters was, Ayame and the human woman who were now Naruto's servants, as well as the original Lizard-folk servants of Viathen, having been moved down there for Gnarl to meet with.

'_Have to know what I'm working with after all.'_ Gnarl mused to himself, though was pleased that alongside Castle Plun-Darr they now had The Duriam Smelter and Giblets armory. Admittedly, it was sheer luck that Viathen had the smelter, but as for the armory, they weren't sure how the oversized Lizard had found it, but it made Gnarl frown deeply in thought. _'Could The Betrayer have left them here? If he had something to do with that Mind-Flayer then it'd make sense.'_ Gnarl mused to himself while silently continuing his trip down into the depths of the enormous castle.

'_But if that's the case, then just how many others are working with that blasted hero in the Underworld?'_ Gnarl mused to himself while slowing as he approached a long hall with several doors. The Servants Quarters being just above the Dungeon Level, which Gnarl supposed Viathen did in order to keep the Servants in line. After all, if you heard screams of torture every night, then it was very likely that you'd try your best not to end up as the poor sods who did end up down there. Shaking those stray, albeit very amusing, thoughts from his head, Gnarl walked to the door leading to the Servants Quarters and hummed upon entering it.

Among the servants were the six human women, Ayame the unofficial leader of them since she knew "The Overlord" on a first name basis. There was also another half-dozen female Lizard-Folk who worked around Castle Plun-Darr. And finally was the "Butler" of the servants, an aged Lizard-Man who was more than happy to continue his service under the new Chieftain, he'd also served the prior three Chieftains, and Gnarl made a mental note to have him watched. _'No one is that loyal…'_ The old Minion-Master thought to himself as he hobbled into the Servants Quarters and made his way over to the "Cook" of the castle, mostly Naruto, Ayame.

"Uh… yes?" Said girl asked while looking to the old Minion-Master and Gnarl grabbed her wrist and pulled her behind him.

"I need someone to talk to The Master, he's locked himself in The Throne Room, and since you've known him the longest, it's going to be you." Gnarl explained with a no nonsense tone and Ayame blinked before worriedly wondering what was wrong with the young blond Overlord. Admittedly, she was surprised to find he was an Overlord, but as far as she was concerned he was still the young blond blob of energy that used to run around pranking people he didn't like. Making their way up through the castle, Ayame mentally made a map so she wouldn't get lost in the future, being a servant meant she'd have to do things around the place, even if she only really needed to know where the kitchen in the place was.

As they approached the Throne Room, Gnarl released her wrist and walked over to the guards beside of the door. "Has there been any change?" He asked and both guards shook their heads, Gnarl grunting as soon as they did. "Wonderful, looks like we'll have to use one of the secret entrances already." Gnarl mused to himself while stroking his long Goatee and walked over to the side and waved Ayame over. Walking over to the aged Minion-Master unsurely, soon stopping as he pressed something and the wall slid away to reveal a passage. "Just go and find out what is wrong with The Master for us." The Minion-Master ordered while pushing the brunette into the passageway and then quickly closed the doorway behind her to give her no choice in the matter.

As soon as the wall closed, Ayame let out a sigh and made her way forward, wondering why the old Minion-Master had trapped her. _'It's not like I wouldn't go on my own…'_ She mused to herself while seeing a tapestry ahead of herself and pushed it aside to find herself in the throne-room. _'I've got to wonder about why they have this here in the first place, I mean, wouldn't it be easy for someone to use it to assassinate their leader?'_ Ayame wondered to herself before looking around the throne-room, spotting Naruto sitting on the throne, his legs drawn up to his chest, arms crossed over them and his cloak covering his body. "Naruto?" Ayame questioned while walking forward and the blond turned to look at her for only a moment.

"Neechan… what are you doing here?" The blond asked quietly and the brunette frowned inwardly as she walked over to the hooded youth.

"Gnarl and the others wanted me to talk to you… but I have to admit I'm worried about you locking yourself in here for two whole days as well." Ayame explained and the blond seemed to sink further into himself while closing his glowing blue eyes.

"Neechan… I just… I just want to be alone for a bit." Naruto whispered quietly and Ayame frowned while walking over to him and placed a hand on his back. Looking to her, Naruto blinked as she sat on the arm of his throne and gave him a look of concern.

"Please Naruto-kun, tell me what's wrong?" She pleaded and the blond closed his eyes for a moment before pushing himself to his feet and walked a few steps forward.

"I… I had to kill Viathen… and I feel really bad about it. I feel like I'm starting to become some kind of monster." Naruto admits while looking to his clawed hands and Ayame tilted her head to one side.

"But haven't you had to kill before?" She asked and Naruto gave a slight smile to the older girl before letting out a sigh.

"A couple spiders, some ants, a pack of wolves, an overgrown lizard, and some gnomes… but that's it… I've never actually had to kill someone myself. With these bandits a while back, I just had my Minions take care of them and focused on fighting the wolves…" Naruto admitted while keeping his cloak closed and Ayame reached out and pulled the youth into a hug.

"Is that all? Naruto-kun…" She mumbled with a shake of her head and Naruto looked up at her with a raised brow. "Shinobi also kill Naruto, they do so because they have too, because with the death of one person, hundreds can be saved." Ayame started and Naruto blinked while looking to her. "Did people suffer because of Viathen? Did he bring pain to those around him?" The older girl asked and Naruto thought back to how the mammoth Lizard-Man had ripped a challenger in half, cut them all off from their allies among many smaller crimes and nodded his head. "Then you did what you had to, any Shinobi would do the same." Ayame told him and Naruto closed his eyes before pushing back and letting out a breath.

"There is… one other thing." Naruto admitted while reaching up to unclasp the skull shaped broach of his cloak and threw it to the side. Ayame's eyes widened upon seeing the mass of silver-white scales that had covered the boy's body, which combined with the sharp pair of barbs at his elbows, and three toed taloned feet only served to show his drastically inhuman qualities… "I also look the part of a monster as well…" Naruto finished while looking to his clawed hands for a moment before removing his mask and crown to show the silver-white-scales were now half-formed over the left side of his face, the whisker marks on his left cheek replaced by three silver ridges. Shaking her head, Ayame slowly stood up and walked over to the blond haired youth before placing her hands on his shoulders, his glowing blue eyes looking up to meet her doe-brown orbs.

"I'll admit, you look… odd… but I don't think a monster would feel bad about killing anyone, especially someone as nasty as this Viathen sounds." Ayame offered with a smile, Naruto blinking for a moment before smiling to the older girl gratefully and grabbing her into a hug.

"Thanks neechan…" He whispered and the older girl patted him on the head for a moment before lightly pushing him back.

"Good, now then, I think Gnarl wanted to see you about something." The girl noted and Naruto nodded his head, replacing his mask, crown, and cloak before making his way to the doors and unlocking them. As soon as he did, Gnarl hobbled in with a grumble under his breath, waving two Browns with a treasure chest into the room.

"What's with the chest?" Naruto questioned with a raised brow, Gnarl having it set down in front of him before crossing his arms.

"It's the treasure that the Goblins captured alongside the servant girls." Gnarl replied, Ayame frowning at the derogatory name while Naruto knelt down and opened the treasure chest and looked around.

"Just some gold… a dagger… hey… what's this thing?" Naruto wondered while pulling out a strange looking device with an almost S shaped symbol emblazoned on the front of it. Seeing it, Gnarl rushed over and plucked the object from Naruto's fingers before looking it over with a light hum. Clicking his tongue, the old Minion-Master's eyes then lit up and he suddenly snapped his fingers with a grin.

"Oh! This is an old Heroes Guild Seal from Albion!" He said with a nod of his head while Ayame looked lost and Naruto hummed lightly. Thinking back, Naruto vaguely remembered Gnarl mentioning Albion and The Archons, then looked back to Gnarl with a frown.

"So it's from my ancestral homeland then?" Naruto asked and Gnarl nodded his head with a wide grin on his face. "But, if that's the case, how'd it get here?" Naruto suddenly questioned of Gnarl and the old Minion-Master blinked before frowning deeply as he realized his master had a point.

"I… don't know. Though it seems that our enemy has his hands in everything that's happening recently." Gnarl replied while rubbing his chin, and then cleared his throat. "But regardless of the how, this is such a boon to our cause sire. A Heroes Guild Seal was an artifact that allowed the Archons it to travel across vast distances at will. I'll have this placed onto the Transport-Generator and we'll be able to send you over to Albion at any time we wish! And possibly other places as well." Gnarl declared and Naruto couldn't help but inwardly admit that he'd like to see his ancestor's homeland.

"So when should I leave?" The blond questioned of his Minion-Master and Gnarl hummed for a moment while slipping the Guild Seal into his robes.

"Not for a bit sire, for the moment, you have to meet with the ambassadors from the Ratonga, Gnoll, Froglok, and Lilmothiit Beast-Folk races." Gnarl replied and Naruto blinked before mentally grimacing as he didn't think this was going to be much fun… "But before we go and do **that**, we still need to get you into your new armor!" Gnarl then stated while hobbling over to one of the guards outside the door to the throne room and whispered to him. The Guard nodded his head and rushed off, Ayame walking over to Naruto with a frown.

"What's going on?" She asked and Naruto blinked for a moment before replying.

"He's bringing me some new armor to replace what was destroyed." The blond haired youth explained, Ayame making an Oh with her mouth before seeing a few more Minions walk into the throne-room with the pieces of armor / equipment with them. "Hey Doc, how're the Goblins doing?" Naruto asked upon seeing his physician and the said former Jester let out a breath.

"Better than they were Sire, Gnarl sent me the Medicine I needed to help them with the waypoint gates." Doc replied and Naruto absently nodded his head before blinking as Giblet rushed forward with a wide grin on under his mask.

"Mastah! We's bring you new armor!" Giblet stated which caused Ayame to giggle, Naruto and the minions looking at her strangely when she did. Blinking upon noticing their stares, the brunette then grinned nervously.

"What? He's cute…" She offered and Naruto couldn't help but raise a brow.

"I really don't think you can classify a Minion as "Cute" Neechan." Naruto noted while crossing his arms, Gnarl absently nodding his head in full agreement with his young Overlord. Huffing, the older girl then crossed her arms over her chest and gave the young blond an annoyed look.

"Not physically… I just mean the way he talks is kind of cute." She grumbled out and Naruto rolled his eyes before looking to Giblet, Doc, Gnarl, and the other Minions who where holding his armor.

"Whose the new green?" Naruto asked seeing a green with them and Gnarl grinned slightly before clearing his throat.

"This is Hiss Sire, your tailor, he's the one who worked with Giblet to make your new armor for you." Gnarl replied and Naruto slowly nodded his head, the said green giving a slight bow to his young Overlord. The Minion's then grinned and jumped onto him, quickly slipping his new armor on. First was a new pair of segmented steel claws over his fingers attached to a pair of light glove, then came a pair of fingerless black leather gloves with steel at the back of his fists and over his forearms, Giblet snapping his Bracelets with The Overlord Gems on over his wrists.

Clenching his fist, Naruto watched the gems glow brightly while Giblet took off his old-waist-cincher and slipped on a new one with a red loincloth, chain-male half-skirt, and harness over his shoulders that had a series of plates down his spine. Slipping on a new belt around his waist and fitting his faerie satchel on with it at the back, two more pouches beside of it, and a single pouch at either of the hanging straps from its sides. Pulling on a pair of black leather heel/toeless shin/instep-guards with two white bands over them, and metal caps over each of his talons / toes. Moving on, Hiss pulled a bandoleer on over Naruto's left shoulder with a leather pauldron attached, several pouches along the front back of the bandoleer.

Stepping back from their master, the minions gave an Ooh as Naruto looked himself over for a moment, Gnarl stepping forward and offering the blond a new mask. Looking over the mask for a moment, Naruto slipped the non-descript mask on over his face before buckling it at the back of his head. Stretching his arms up over his head, the blond then pulled his hood forward to shadow his features, his glowing eyes seeming even brighter than they normally were. "Ahh yes, most excellent sire, I dare say you look better than ever!" Gnarl declared with a grin while Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and shot him a look.

"Yeah… now about those ambassadors you wanted me to meet." Naruto reminded the old Minion-Master and Gnarl chuckled for a moment before nodding his head and waddling over to the door, Naruto silently walking over to his throne and sitting back with his eyes closed.

"Nervous?" Ayame asked while still sitting on the armrest of the throne and Naruto shrugged his shoulders.

"Not really. I hate to admit it, but I'm sort of getting used to this ruling over other people thing." Naruto admitted and saw a slight smile cross Ayame's face as she leaned over to whisper into one of his ears. Though he idly admitted his ears were probably large enough that she could whisper from a distance and he'd still hear her.

"Can you imagine the looks on peoples faces back in Konoha if they could see you right now and hear you admit that?" Ayame asked the young blond and he snickered to himself for a moment before grinning at her from beneath his mask.

"I imagine it'd be a blend between disbelief and shock." Naruto replied and Ayame nodded her head in agreement, before both looked to the door as Gnarl walked back into the throne room with a host of Beast-Men following him.

The first of the beast-men was a trio of vaguely dog-like beings that were at least seven feet tall with lean builds and gray-brown fur with black spots and black on their hands and feet, a tan underside, muzzled face with triangular ears, bright yellow eyes, digitigrade legs that ended in paws, sharp black claws on their fingers and toes, and black fur in a straight line down their backs. One of them was female and walked in front with short spiky black hair and a low hanging spiky Ponytail, the next was male with a wily look to him, and last was a stupid looking one with pieces of his ears missing, giggling to himself stupidly. They wore furs and hides from beasts as clothing / armor, the female wearing what looked like a lions pelt with a black mane as well as a scar over its left eye, and slightly thicker spiked / studded leather armor along with the hide-armor.

Next came a series of strange and rather short frog like creatures with the green reptilian hide to match, a few having paint or markings for added color, bright yellow eyes with - shaped pupils, a frog shaped head, flippers for feet, and no hair at all. They each wore what looked like simple leather with wooden armor, trinkets made from rusted over brass, bone and wooden trinkets, and other such dull metals littering their clothes. After the frogs was a short Rat-man with a smaller female at his side, both had the same digitigrade legs, muzzled faces with sharp rat like teeth and beady eyes, rat like ears and furless tails, and claws on their hands and feet, while the rat man was brown with a pale underside and long black mustache, his eyes were bright red and he was somewhat on the hefty side, while the female was pale yellow with blond hair and simple black eyes.

The male of the Rats was dressed in a combination of dark armor and red robes, a pair of daggers slipped into the loop of his sash, a helmet like crown over his head, and leather bracers and shin-guards with no shoes or boots or even sandals over his feet. The Female had soot over some of her form and was dressed in a vest over a tight blue tunic with a loincloth, a pair of goggles perched on her head and leather wraps around her forearms and shins. After them was a short thin and young looking Lizard-man with a scarlet colored reptilian hide with a white underside, brown ridges on its head, blue eyes, and black markings over its entire body. He was wearing a pair of goggles, brown leather bracers over his forearms, an old brown loincloth, leather bands around his feet, and a tough looking faded blue cloth wrapped over his torso.

Finally, and most annoying to Naruto, was two fox-men, or rather Fox-Women of average human height. Both had fox-like muzzled faces, fur over their bodies, slightly long ears, thin almost slanted eyes, digitigrade legs ending in paws, clawed hands, and fluffy tails. The taller of the two was a black color, with long spiky red hair with a blue sphere acting as a band near its base, red markings over her face one at either side of her lips and two more to mimic small thin eyebrows, bright red eyes, red claws on her hands and feet, it wore a black fluffy fur around its neck with leather bands coming from under it under her arms and around to attach to the other side, a simple fur loincloth / pair of shorts, with bracers over her forearms and shin-guards.

The second one was clearly the younger of the two and appeared around Naruto's height with bright yellow in color and seems to partly stand on end at her shoulders to form three noticeable spikes, with white hands / feet that are almost like paws, white tips to her tail and ears, and a white underside, her own claws being black rather than red, her eyes were violet in color, and she had "hair" pulled up into a spiky ponytail with a black band her hair also having white tips to it like her tail and ears, with purple markings under her eyes shaped like bent lines, and also forming into small thin eyebrows like the first one had, and on each of her thighs are two more markings shaped like two tomoes.

She also wears the strange fluffy fur cover over her chest and neck only its white with black bands crossing under her arms twice and making an X at her back, she also wears a purple loincloth with a pair of black tomoe on it, black straps hanging from it over her thighs while a black belt is under it with a few strange tubes on its sides, three pouches at the back of her waist, her feet are partially covered by black leather bands attached to metal plates forming Instep-guards, and her arms are covered by purple bicep length gloves that have a yin-yang mark on them, a gold ring attached to both gloves holding them to her middle fingers.

"Master, allow me to introduce our guests…" Gnarl started while walking over to the Hyena like Beast-Men. "This is Shenzi, Leader of the Gnolls, and her two brothers, Banzai and Ed." Gnarl started and Shenzi rolled her eyes while looking at the Minion-Master with an amused smirk on her face.

"Thanks for the introduction, Grey-Guy, but whose the kid?" She asked and one of the foxes palmed her face before glaring over at the Gnoll with a frown.

"He's the Overlord fool…" She told the Hyena-woman who blinked before gaping openly, Banzai and Ed snorting before snickering into their hands.

"Wha… hold up, this pip-squeak is supposed to be the New-Overlord?" Shenzi demanded and got nods from the others, causing her to blink then shake her head. "Wow, did they scrape the bottom of the barrel or what?" She wondered aloud and Gnarl growled at the Gnoll leader angrily before shaking his head with a grunt and turning back to face Naruto.

"Gnolls are known as a nomadic race that travel from place to place, often staying close to mountains and gorges where they won't be encountered. They are often found in "Clans" with all of the Gnolls highly valuing Family and blood-ties, however often fight one another for dominance. They are also scavengers, brigands, and slavers thus are very good at their work in those fields, though they detest physical work and force it on their slaves instead… and since they are "Hyena-Men", they are also well known to have notoriously bad jokes." Gnarl explained while motioning to the "Hyena-Folk" or Gnolls, Ed giggling like a maniac while Shenzi smirked towards Naruto.

"You know, its kind of funny really, not only is he a kid, but the new Overlord is also almost as small as a Ratonga." Shenzi noted aloud while rubbing at her chin for a moment and Banzai snorted for a bit before grinning towards his sister. Naruto however twitched at the crack at his height and growled low in his throat, the "Small Jokes" people kept throwing at him were really trying on his patience.

"Nah, ol' Rataro still has him beat in size… well… at least when it comes to his girth!" Banzai replied causing all three to suddenly bust out laughing as the rotund Rat-Man glared at the three for the obvious crack at his weight. _'Great, Duela will love these three…'_ Naruto thought to himself as he thought that was a pretty bad-joke, and Duela seemed crazy enough that she liked any kind of jokes.

"What was that you giggling maniacs?" "Rataro" as the Gnolls had named him demanded of them furiously, pulling his daggers from his sides as he did, seeing this Shenzi just started snickering even as she shrugged her shoulders.

"C'mon don't get your whiskers all twisted up, we was just having a little fun at your expense." Shenzi said in a slight placating way and Rataro frowned while lowering his arms, only to glare when he saw a wide grin cross her muzzled face. "Course when it comes to "little" not many can beat a Ratonga!" Shenzi added as more of an afterthought, all three laughing at the bad joke with Ed actually falling on his back from laughter.

"I'll kill you!" The Rat-Man snarled out while trying to lunge at the Gnolls, one of the frogmen holding him back. "Release me Reptilian! These cackling fools need to learn respect!" Rataro snarled out and Shenzi grinned while Banzai snorted and gave him a rather amused look.

"Oh yeah well bring it on!" Shenzi stated with her arms crossed and Banzai nodded his head in agreement.

"Yeah, we'll take you on anytime you want, tiny! We'll even let you have first swing, maybe even second, and then third, cause there's no way you could reach high enough on us to actually hit anything important!" Banzai declared and Ed started laughing harder, Rataro snarling as the blond "Rat-woman" started shaking her head. Shenzi then placed a hand on her brother's shoulder and walked forward, pulling some sharp metal claws on over her fists and towering over the significantly smaller Rataro…

"Banzai's right, you can take us on all you want… just don't go and cry to the Overlord when you or your people end up as Gnoll-Chow." Shenzi offered darkly while grinning wide enough to show her sharp teeth to the Ratonga male, said male stiffening for a moment before slipping his daggers back into his belt. Blinking at the action, Naruto leaned over to Gnarl with a frown on his face.

"What was that all about?" Naruto asked his Minion-Master and Gnarl grimaced with his skin having taken on an almost unnoticeable green tint.

"Gnolls are known for practicing Carrion Eating…" Gnarl replied with a shiver of disgust and Naruto raised a brow while looking at his Minion-Master curiously. "They eat fresh corpses, and some are even known to raid graveyards for them." Gnarl replied with a shiver and Naruto almost lurched, the Gnolls merely grinning in what he could only assume was pride. _'Kami-Sama that's gross… and I really hope that Sylvanas-Hime isn't considered a "Fresh" corpse then…'_ Naruto thought to himself, though he inwardly admitted he'd probably gut the Gnolls himself if they even tried to eat Sylvanas. Feeling bad about killing or not, no one was going to hurt something precious to him.

"Yes well next are the Bullywugs or Frogloks. Their leader here is known as Bio Bog-Water, as well as his two advisors." Gnarl stated while motioning to a Frogman who had black-ish green hide with bright red orange markings.

"Greetings Overlord, forgive Shenzi if she has insulted you, she is somewhat… how you say… over enthusiastic." Bio offered with a slight bow towards the youth, Shenzi suddenly scoffing at the remark and giving him a look.

"Reptilian kiss-up." She noted snidely and Bio croaked while narrowing his yellow eyes onto her.

"At least I'm not fool enough to insult the current leader of The Lizard-men, not to mention the ally of The Naga, The Orcs, **and** The Goblins!" Bio reminded and Shenzi blinked before rubbing at her jaw for a moment and shrugged her shoulders.

"What do I care if I insulted him? My clan have been doing just fine on their own for years, why would we need his help?" Shenzi countered while walking back to her siblings and Banzai blinked before scratching his head and looking to his sister.

"Hey wait… didn't we need help cause with all the humans running around and no wars to produce corpses we're losing places we can go for food?" Banzai noted aloud and Shenzi glared at her brother before swatting him over the head. _'Well that explains why they're here… and I'm guessing Shenzi is too proud to admit that they need help.'_ Naruto inwardly noted to himself while Gnarl grunted and looked back to his Overlord.

"Anyways… Frogloks, as they are more commonly called rather than Bullywugs, are excellent Hunters and Fishers, they are a somewhat primitive race as they care little for ornaments or decoration and prefer reminders of the ancient swampy-marshlands that they once called home. They are also known for attacking other races for food, mostly any close to swamps but will occasionally work with other races when they have fallen on hard times. Unfortunately they are drawn to Beer, ale, or any other kind of alcohol even though it is highly toxic to them, putting them in comas or even killing them outright." Gnarl explained and Naruto nodded his head, though besides their appearance, wondered why they were called a Dark-Race.

"I take it your people have recently hit such a hard-time then?" Naruto asked while looking to Bio and he grimaced before nodding his head.

"The humans near our marshland homes have been waging a long bloody war on one another for decades, many of our homes and our hunting grounds are being lost. We come seeking aide from the Underworld as it has always been a safe-haven for all Dark Races. When we learned of a new Overlord, we knew we could turn to you for aide in our time of plight." Bio replied while literally croaking slightly at the end, Naruto slowly nodding his head before looking to Gnarl with a frown.

"Do we have room for them down here?" Naruto asked and Gnarl clicked his tongue for a moment before slowly shaking his head.

"Perhaps… but we'd have to get Grubby and the Troglodytes to dig out a new area for them here in the Underswamps." Gnarl replied and Naruto nodded his head before looking back to the Froglok-Leader.

"Is that acceptable?" Naruto asked and Bio nodded his head, adequately pleased with the new bargain he'd made with the young blond. With that out of the way, Gnarl then cleared his throat to get Naruto's attention once more, the blond looking to him with a raised brow.

"Now that that's out of the way, allow me to introduce you to Lord Rataro son of Ratilla and ruler of the Ratonga who dwell here in The Underworld. As well as his niece, Gadget Hackwrench." Gnarl continued while motioning to the beady-eyed creatures, Rataro nodding his head only once before walking forward with a slight bow at the waist.

"As representative of my people, I am pleased to see a new leader has taken the throne from that fool Viathen. I do not come seeking anything, I only wish that the old alliances between Lizard-Folk and Ratonga may be restored to their former glory." Rataro stated simply before turning back to stand beside of his niece, arms crossed over his chest. Said Niece tilted her head to one side while looking up at him curiously, being even smaller than Naruto or Rataro…

"Was all that really necessary Uncle?" Gadget questioned of him curiously while Rataro scoffed and gave her a somewhat scathing look.

"I'm merely trying to restore our old relations with the Lizard-Folk, they were our allies for centuries before Viathen came along." Rataro replied and Gadget merely inclined her head before watching as Naruto rubbed his chin for a moment, then let out a slight breath.

"I think we'll work fine together… I just have one question Rataro." Naruto replied and the leader of The Ratonga raised a brow while looking to the blond.

"And what is that?" He asked cautiously and then saw Naruto shoot an annoyed look Shenzi's way.

"Are you as sick of all the small jokes as I am?" Naruto asked the Ratonga and Rataro blinked for only a moment before letting out an annoyed grunt.

"You have no idea…" Rataro replied and Naruto mentally snorted before leaning into his open palm while looking to the Ratonga leader.

"I've already been made fun of by at least one of every larger race down here even though I'm only twelve… and it's really starting to wear on my nerves." Naruto retorted with a flat tone of voice and Rataro raised a brow in confusion.

"Why? If your only twelve you're going to grow taller eventually." Rataro noted aloud and Naruto nodded his head with a slight smile on his face.

"I know right!" The blond declared and Gnarl cleared his throat, Naruto blinking before rubbing the back of his head. "You need something Gnarl?" The blond Overlord in Training questioned of his Minion-Master and the said Grey nodded his head before clearing his throat.

"Aye sire. The Ratonga are by no means a hearty or strong race, instead they are fast and agile, not to mention fairly intelligent. These attributes have made them excellent mages, engineers, and scouts, thus why they often dress in light armor or clothing allowing them to better blend in with their environment. Not only that but they are also old allies to the Lizard-Folk and the Naga by Proxy, as such they live in the many small tunnels here in The Underworld that criss-cross between the Naga, The Drow, The Duergar, and The Lizard-Folk." Gnarl explained to the blond haired youth, Naruto silently nodding his head though wondering what a Duergar was since Gnarl had never mentioned them before.

"And last we come to Lady Zorua and her daughter Rika of The Lilmothiit sire." Gnarl finished and "Zorua" the dark-grey fox-woman gave a curt bow, while her daughter "Rika" merely harrumphed while crossing her arms over her chest.

"It is our pleasure to meet you sire." Zorua offered while standing up, having a voice that sort of reminded Naruto of a red-eyed woman he'd seen walking around Konoha with The Sandaime's son Asuma. Ayame frowned as she looked to the two, her brow twitching slightly in annoyance. While she didn't hate foxes because of Kyuubi, she wasn't exactly a fan of them, and these two just gave off a weird feeling she didn't like.

"Somehow, I am just betting your race are the ones that everyone up top think are Kitsune." Naruto noted while drumming his fingers on his throne then looked to Gnarl as he chuckled lightly to himself.

"Correct Sire! But I feel that I should mention that the Lilmothiit are originally from the Black-Marsh area of Tamriel. Though they left those lands a long time ago, and are believed to be extinct there now. Now then, the Lilmothiit are exceptional in certain fields sire, they are all quick and agile, have rather amazing abilities with Illusions, and are naturally formidable in Hand to Hand combat. However, they are more or less useless with swords or blades, preferring knuckle weapons and staves. Thus the Lilmothiit are perfectly suited to being Illusionist Mages as well as Brawler Monks." Gnarl explained to Naruto and the blond slowly nodded his head in understanding.

"Indeed milord, in fact my Rika is a Monk." Zorua noted while motioning over to the said fox-girl who merely muttered something under her breath. The Fox-Woman then looked to her daughter and a slim frown crossed her face. "Rika, don't be so rude, greet The Overlord." Zorua urged her daughter and yet Rika scoffed while her tail started to swing behind her in an agitated manner.

"I'll be rude if I want too, I didn't even want to come here in the first place…" Rika muttered angrily and her mother twitched while narrowing her crimson eyes onto her yellow furred daughter.

"Rika, I brought you because not only are you my daughter, but one of the strongest fighters in our clan. It's an honor to meet the Overlord." Zorua stated and Rika scoffed before looking to Naruto and rolled her eyes before looking back to her mother.

"I'm with the Gnolls, he's a bit too tiny to be lording over anyone." Rika stated simply, Ed suddenly falling on his back laughing while Shenzi snickered and Banzai held his ribs from laughter. Gaping for a moment, Zorua growled low in her throat while glaring at her daughter, Rika likewise glaring back at her. However just then the red Lizard-man that Naruto noticed earlier grinned nervously and quickly moved between the mother and daughter before one of them attacked the other.

"W-wait miss Zorua, you know how Rika gets some times, she's just being… well… Rika." He said to the older of the two Lilmothiit before quickly turning to face Rika with a worried look on his face. "And please calm down Rika, you know that your mother means well…" The red lizard offered in a slightly nasally voice, then turned to Naruto and bowed his head a few times. "Sorry milord, Rika is sort of bad at meeting new people, she still sometimes gets aggravated with me." The Lizard noted with a nervous chuckle and the said Fox-Girl narrowed her eyes on the Troglodyte Lizard-Man.

"Shut up, Goggle-Head." She stated mockingly, Naruto frowning deeply as he used to wear goggles as well. He then idly wondered where he'd put his own goggles, as they had telescopic lenses that let him see some distance away and were originally a gift from Sylvanas since he didn't have the natural eyesight of an Elf. Shaking his head of that question, the blond then looked at the young Troglodyte with a slight frown.

"Alright, but… um… who are you?" Naruto asked the Troglodyte and he blinked before clearing his throat for a moment.

"Oh me?" The red Lizard-man / boy asked while pointing to himself and Naruto nodded his head silently. "Oh well, I'm Takato milord, Takato Guil of the Guil clan, it's an honor to meet you." Takato replied with another bow of his head and Naruto looked over to Gnarl with a raised brow.

"Guil clan?" The blond asked curiously and Gnarl shrugged his shoulders.

"I honestly have no idea what he's talking about, sire. I only know the basics of the races, not every little detail." Gnarl replied and Naruto let out a grunt before looking back to Takato for some kind of explanation.

"Oh, my clan are the best diggers in the entire Underworld, in honor of this we were given a clan name unlike the other Troglodytes." Takato explained and Naruto hummed lightly for a moment before looking over to Gnarl.

"Don't we have a Digger minion?" He asked the old Minion-Master and Gnarl slowly nodded his head.

"Aye sire, his name is Grubby, he's a bit annoying but a good miner none the less." Gnarl replied and Naruto rubbed his chin for a moment before looking back to Takato and leaned forward.

"Would you or your family mind heading down and helping dig out an area for the Froglok's to live?" Naruto questioned of the crimson Lizardman and he shook his head, smiling slightly while Naruto then looked down to Gnarl. The old minion-Master grinned slightly before letting out a sharp whistle, Giblet running into the room and saluting, only to smack his mask to hard and be thrown onto his back, Ayame giggling to herself as he did while the Gnolls outright laughed.

"Giblet!" Gnarl stated, getting the Gnolls into yet another bout of laughter from his name, while the said brown stood back up and looked attentively to the old Minion-master. "Take this Troglodyte to find his family and then have them report to Grubby to expand the Underworld, we need more room down here." Gnarl ordered and Giblet nodded his head while running over to Takato, grabbed his wrist and then pulled him off after him. With that out of the way, Naruto nodded his head slightly before looking back to Rika and her mother Zorua

"Now, would it be too much to ask you _**why**_ you're here?" Naruto questioned with a raised brow and Zorua cleared her throat before walking forward.

"My people are nomadic and can live most anywhere milord, however we prefer to live near forests, swamps, and marshes more than any other terrain. We also once lived in a place known to our kind and the Frogloks as the Marsh of Chelimber before the humans started waging war on one another caused us to move on. We drifted from place to place, as nomads are easily able to adapt to this sire, however… hunting has grown scarce and human settlements are very abundant, leaving us with little way to survive on our own." Zorua explained and Naruto leaned back in his throne and lightly tapped his cheek with one of his clawed fingers, Ayame looking greatly confused.

"Marsh of Chelimber? Where's that?" She asked while looking from Zorua to Gnarl and the old Minion-Master stroked his Goatee before replying.

"To you it would be known as Mizu-no-Kuni, the so-called Land of Water. Back before the age of Shinobi it was known as The Marsh of Chelimber, where our Lords ancestor Eldrith lived within her Onyx-Tower for a time." Gnarl explained and Ayame suddenly blinked in surprise before looking to Naruto.

"Wow, I never would've guessed that one of your ancestors was actually from Mizu-no-Kuni Naruto-kun." She admitted while staring at him and Naruto shrugged his shoulders before leaning into his fist.

"It's news to me too Ayame-neechan, all I knew about Eldrith before was that she was the one who started the original Dark Alliance." Naruto replied truthfully, Ayame slightly surprised to know it was a female Overlord who had started such a thing… then smirked as a sudden thought came to mind, the brunette looking over to Gnarl as he sat beside the throne.

"Hey, did any of the male Overlords ever try working with others before Naruto-kun?" She asked the aging Minion-Master curiously and Gnarl grunted for a moment before rubbing his face.

"Unfortunately no… they always ended up attacking with just we Minions, leaving themselves sadly under armed against larger forces whenever the Light Races banded together against us." Gnarl admitted with a wave of one claw, and then raised a brow as Ayame giggled into her hand. She then sat up proudly while brushing some of her hair back over her shoulder, Gnarl and Naruto not liking the look on her face.

"It somehow figures that only a woman would try and work with others." Ayame noted, Shenzi and Zurua snickering into their hands though also nodding in agreement with the brunette. As they did, both Rataro and Bio narrowed their eyes onto the girl, and Naruto palmed his face for a moment before giving her a flat look.

"Neechan, do I really need to remind you that I'm a boy? Or that I'm _**also**_ making a Dark Aliance just like my ancestor? Or that I didn't know that she even _**existed**_ until after I started doing so?" Naruto asked flatly and Ayame blinked for a moment before grinning nervously and patting his shoulder.

"No of course not, but she did think it up first, Naruto-kun." Ayame replied and Naruto shook his head with a frown before looking back to Zorua.

"Fucking technicalities… how do I beat someone who's been dead for centuries?" Naruto muttered under his breath before clearing his throat. "I take it that you wish for either trade between your people and mine, or for a place to stay here too?" Naruto questioned with a wave of one hand and the Fox-Woman silently nodded her head.

"The former sire, my people prefer the open air to these tunnels and are perfectly fine with the forests above." Zorua replied before taking a step forward and bowing only slightly to the young Overlord. "However, as hunting is slim I as representative of my people humbly request you allow the Lilmothiit to trade with the other Dark-Races under your rule." Zorua explained and Naruto tilted his head to one side while leaning back in his throne, idly rubbing his chin. He already decided he'd help them, but he didn't want to sound _**too**_ charitable, he had the feeling that some of the Dark-Races would take advantage of him if he did.

"_**Impressive runt, you're already learning how it is you need to rule. And I really want to be one of those Lilmothiit when I get my own body. I won't have to change my looks too much to be one of them."**_ The Kyuubi's voice noted in his mind and Naruto mentally blinked while outward closing his eyes.

'_Kyuubi, what the hell do you want?'_ The blond haired Overlord in training questioned angrily and the creature let out a dark chuckle before replying.

"_**Just checking on my oh so gracious Overlord, and I'm wondering why you haven't spoken to The Gnarled One about reforming me a body yet…"**_ The Kyuubi replied with a low growl at the end and Naruto mentally grunted.

'_Maybe because I have the distinct feeling it'd take an ass-load of magic to do that and I don't have any magic users who could help me with that besides that kid…'_ Naruto responded with a mental frown, The Kyuubi merely grumbling to itself as it soon fell silent and Naruto let out a slight breath. "Alright Zorua, I'll accept that, besides I think the Dark-Races need to learn a little coexistence if this Dark-Alliance is ever going to work." Naruto replied and Zorua smiled graciously while giving a curt bow and then straightening up before the young Overlord.

"Thank you milord, I cannot truly express how much this means to my people." Zorua told the blond truthfully before then looking to Rika, whom merely scowled deeply before huffing and looking to the side. "In fact…" Zorua noted with a frown, annoyed with her Daughter's rudeness, before looking over to the young Overlord. "Why don't you take care of her for me. Since she's saw fit to be nothing but rude to you it'd be a fitting punishment." Zorua mused to herself thoughtfully, Rika shooting an incredulous look at her matched by Naruto.

"You _**can't**_ be serious!" Rika declared while looking at her mother who silently crossed her arms over her chest with a flat look.

"And why is that? You've been rude and insulting to the Overlord, to me, and to everyone else you've met ever since you won that stupid little tournament a while back. Winning one tournament does _**not**_ make you queen of the world!" Zorua noted while ticking off her fingers and Rika growled lowly, only to yelp in pain as Zorua pulled one of her ears upwards with her other paw / hand on her hip. "Now listen here young lady, I've put up with your sass for long enough. It's time you learned a little respect and if I have to literally take away your freedom to do it then so be it." Zorua decided with a nod of her head and then seemed to tap at her chin for a moment while Naruto gaped disbelievingly.

"Wait, why is she doing this to her own daughter?" Ayame quickly asked Gnarl and the old grey turned to her with a blink and then snickered to himself.

"Think about it girl, little Rika has been rude to The Overlord, the same person who is _**graciously**_ allowing her people to trade with his own… how do you think that would go if our master was just a wee bit more _**evil**_?" Gnarl retorted and saw the wince that Ayame gave while looking back over to where Zorua was standing with Rika.

"So she's going to enslave her daughter to Naruto, just for being rude to him?" Ayame questioned and Gnarl shrugged his shoulders.

"I've seen Drow kill their own young for being born deformed, this is nothing." Gnarl replied and Ayame gasped in horror while Zorua turned to look at Naruto, who was still gaping at what was happening.

"Milord, since my daughter has saw fit to not only insult you, but to also be a complete and utter ass to everyone she's ever met… I'd like to arrange a marriage between the two of you." Zorua noted and Rika gaped before glaring at her mother.

"You can't do that!" She shouted only to yelp and grab her mother's wrists as she painfully wrenched her ear upwards. As she did, Rataro's niece Gadget winced while watching the two for a moment then looked to her uncle.

"Is marrying the Overlord really that much of a punishment?" She questioned of him and he rolled his eyes for a moment before patting her on the head.

"Rika is a prideful creature unlike you Gadget, she sees this as loosing her freedom of choice and so it is a punishment to her. To others it would be a gift, but her own blind arrogance prevents her from seeing it as such." Rataro explained and Gadget slowly nodded her head in understanding before turning back to the spectacle, the Gnolls watching with amused grins on their faces.

"First of all, I'm your mother, second of all, I'm leader of the clan, third of all… I just did!" Zorua retorted while glaring at the yellow furred Lilmothiit girl, Naruto shaking his head when she said that and palming his face.

"Wait now hold on just a minute! I'm already engaged to Manasa, how can you engage me to her as well?" Naruto demanded of the woman while leaning forward in his seat and Zorua turned with an arched brow.

"I don't see any problem with that? The Lizard-Folk ruler before Viathen had six mates, so two isn't so bad." Zorua noted while Naruto gaped and tried to come up with a retort, only for Gnarl to quickly move forward. He knew his young master wasn't exactly ready to appreciate how good he had it, but that didn't mean that Gnarl didn't believe that he'd thank him in the future!

"I believe that would be fine milady Zorua, the master needs someone to help in his "Hand to Hand" combat training as well anyways." Gnarl noted with a slight bow to the older of the two Lilmothiit, Naruto and Ayame both shooting the aging Minion-Master with an annoyed glare when he did. Naruto was because he was getting sick of Gnarl making every decision like this for him. And Ayame because she didn't like that Naruto was already betrothed, and now he had _**two**_ fiancés… "In any case, the master has work to do, so if you would all please adjourn to the provided rooms you may spend as much time here as you wish." Gnarl offered with a slight bow and Zorua nodded before all but dragging Rika out of the room.

The Gnolls soon followed them, while Rataro and Bio gave a slight bow to Naruto before following them out leaving Naruto with his Minion-Master and Ayame. As soon as they were gone, Naruto lunged at Gnarl and lifted him up by his cloak, his eyes steaming a furious blood red. **"Gnarl, what the hell do you think you're doing? I thought I told you to stop making decisions like this for me.!"** Naruto growled at the old minion-master and Gnarl gulped before grinning towards the youth nervously.

"C-Calm down sire, I assure you I had a very good reason for doing what I did!" Gnarl stated while holding onto Naruto's wrists and the blond let out a low growl in his throat while glaring into his single eye.

"**Oh really? Humor me then, what exactly could be so important that I'd need yet **_**another**_** fiancé?"** The blond haired Overlord In Training demanded angrily of the old Minion-Master and Gnarl took a calming breath before steeling his nerves.

"Master… how many Abyss Dragons do you think are left?" Gnarl questioned and Naruto blinked while raising a brow as he looked at the Gray-Minion in confusion. "Only one is left in all the lands, nay, the entire world! That is you sire, you are all that remains of the Abyss Dragons!" Gnarl explained and Naruto blinked for a moment before releasing Gnarl, the Minion-Master hitting the floor with a grunt while Naruto looked to his clawed hands for a moment.

"**I'm…** the last?" He questioned while his voice returned to normal and Gnarl let out a quick breath before nodding his head.

"Indeed sire, so for every mistress you have, more Abyss Dragons will also be born. Admittedly none of them will be pure breeds but it's better than the alternative of the entire species dying out." Gnarl explained to the blond haired youth while pulling on his collar for a moment, Naruto letting out a breath as he lowered his arms into his cloak and looked to the minion-master with a frown.

"Fine… now you mentioned something about going to Albion?" Naruto questioned and Gnarl quickly nodded his head while pushing himself back up to his feet.

"Aye, follow me sire and we'll get you off on your next adventure." Gnarl offered while quickly hobbling off into Castle Plun-Darr, Naruto following him slowly while Ayame quickly moved to his side. Placing a hand onto the blond's shoulder, she watched him look to her and smiled unsurely.

"Are you alright Naruto-kun?" She questioned softly and Naruto closed his eyes for a moment before chuckling lightly in his throat.

"You ever wonder what it'd be like to be the only human alive?" He asked and Ayame shook her head, Naruto opening his eyes and smiling softly. "Well, trust me, it's not a good feeling…" The blond stated as he then followed after Gnarl with a more hurried pace, Ayame watching him for a moment before quickly following behind him…

(Konoha…)

She silently leapt from roof to roof before slowly approaching the edge of the building adjacent to an old apartment building. Crouching down for only a moment, she then leapt out and flew through the air, landing against the side of the building where she quickly wrapped her arms around the railing. Slipping over it and into a crouch on the ground, the woman then slunk through the shadows, her glowing red eyes causing a cat to hiss before leaping away into the night. Raising a brow for only a moment, the woman then approached a familiar apartment, before stilling and walking to the side. Looking at the side of the building her eyes bolted wide open upon seeing a massive hole had been torn out of the side of the apartment.

'_What happened here?'_ She wondered briefly before climbing over to the hole and slipping inside of the apartment. Narrowing her eyes, she knelt down and frowned when she felt a dark taint of exceptional strength. _'But it's faint, it must've been weeks ago that it was left here.'_ She noted to herself before crouching down and searching for the most minuet of clues to what happened to her son. She felt a mental flinch at calling the boy as being hers, she hadn't given birth to him after all, and he wasn't even of the same species as her, not to mention she was technically dead…

'_But I was the one who cared for him, nurtured him, taught him how to survive, to fight and live… I __**raised**__ him… I've earned the right to think of him as my own.'_ She thought to herself before stopping at a silver splotch on the carpet of the apartment and frowned deeply. _'This looks familiar…'_ She noted before lowering her head and sniffing her eyes widening as she all but vaulted back her face twisted into a look of disgust. _'It's unicorn blood! By the creators that's… who could ever be __**desperate**__ enough to use that method of gaining immortality?'_ She mentally demanded before standing up and walking over to the broken wall with a deep scowl on her face.

'_Unicorn Blood, the sheer insanity of doing that is unbelievable… I haven't even heard of any fool using that method in several centuries… hell, Unicorns are all but extinct in Azeroth! Where would someone even find one!'_ She inwardly demanded, as in many lands the once majestic creature was becoming more and more rare. However now that she thought about it, she hadn't really searched the "Elemental Nations" all that greatly, having stuck to Hi-No-Kuni and her son on her visits. However, shaking her head she returned to her search and scowled when she saw the edges of the wall.

'_A fire-ball spell projected someone at extreme velocity and the sheer force of the blow managed to cause whoever was unlucky enough to be hit to be sent flying out of the building __**here**__, and through the roof of that one over __**there**__…'_ She thought with a slight wince, and then frowned as she remembered no one used the simple Fireball spell in the Elemental Nations. They had a Fireball Jutsu and Pheonix Flower Jutsu that made larger fireballs or multiple fireballs, but not one for something a simple hand-sized fireball or even a flamethrower style attack. It was actually quite amusing, Chakra was indeed powerful, however that power made its uses for actual stealth quite limited.

'_A simple small fireball could set a fire and no one would notice until it's too late, those enormous ones cause too much damage or alert the person nearby. Although I have to admit that when it comes to Wind, these people beat us by a long ways with their ability to extend their swords reach with it.'_ She noted to herself while taking a few steps back and then lunged forward, jumping over to the next building and landing in a low crouch, her cloak closing around her body as she stood up. Looking around, she instantly noticed a trail of blood and frowned while lowering down to one knee. Frowning deeply for a moment, she noted that the blood had faded greatly, and was only half washed away, meaning it had stained the very wood it was on.

'_But that is to my great fortune in this case.'_ She thought to herself while lowering a hand and then swiping it along the blood before sniffing it. The dried caked blood no longer carried much of a scent, leaving it's origins as a mystery, though she had a sneaking suspicion she knew whom it came from. Following what remained of the trail, she slowly exited the room and then drummed her fingers on a wall when she saw that it ended only a short distance from the room. Looking down, she noted several foot shaped and yet very deep indentions in the wood and scowled deeply.

'_The sheer weight of whoever was the pursuer here is astounding, he must've been dressed head to tow in armor…'_ She thought and a brief memory of a familiar armor clad being flashed in her mind, causing her to clench her fists before exhaling a breath. _'No… he's gone now.'_ She reminded herself while making her way to follow the deep indentions, vaguely noticing gouges in the wood from what could only be spikes, which she added to her mental picture and twitched once more, the size of the attacker also increased to behemoth level proportions, a juggernaut dressed in heavy spiked armor had attacked her son…

'_But why? And where is he?'_ She wondered to herself while stopping at the door of the building with a frown on her face. Clearly time had worn away the rest of the trail, which meant it'd be very hard to find him… "S-Sasuke-S-san, we sh-shouldn't be out th-this late." She heard and pressed her back into a wall while slipping into the shadows and watched a young Hyuuga girl walk behind a familiar Uchiha boy. _'The girl is the one who follows my son like a lost puppy, the boy is the arrogant brat who needs to get a good trouncing…'_ She thought to herself before listening to the two and wondered what they were doing out so late.

"If we're gonna find out why someone would want to kill Naruto then we have to search the place he died for clues." Sasuke stated simply, arms crossed over his chest while the timid Hyuuga started to poke her index fingers together. However at hearing this, the woman who was listening in felt her eyes widen before her crimson eyes suddenly burned a furious red. _'So I was right… but why would someone attack my son? Did they find out about my attachment to him?'_ The Dark Lady wondered to herself before deciding that this deserved more investigation, so followed the Hyuuga and Uchiha heirs as they crossed the village.

Sasuke and Hinata walked into the remains of the building where Naruto had "Died" in Konoha's eyes. Making his way forward, Sasuke jumped into where the basement had once been before turning to give Hinata a look. "C'mon, we don't have all night to look around here." He reminded her simply and she nodded her head before sliding down behind him, the Uchiha shaking his head with a frown. Behind the two, Lady Sylvanas Windrunner landed with a light plop, and then actually shivered when she felt an all-consuming presence of Darkness swarm around her.

'_This… this presence is nothing like the one in Naruto's home, it's… stronger… older…'_ She noted to herself while silently watching the two heirs as they continued to search around the basement. "Hinata, use your Byakugan and see if you can see anything unusual around here." Sasuke stated while looking around and the girl silently nodded her head before activating her kekkei-genkai. However she then widened her eyes and gasped upon seeing a mass of pitch black energy had stained the area, it permeated from everything and left little around them visible…

"Th-There's some k-kind of b-black energy h-here… it's m-masking everything." Hinata noted and Sasuke raised a brow for a moment before scowling visibly as he looked all around, yet saw nothing.

"Is it Chakra?" Sasuke questioned and Hinata shook her head with a visible shudder as she looked all around.

"N-No… it's different somehow… and its t-tainted… f-foul… evil." The young Hyuuga responded with another shudder while Sasuke frowned deeply as that didn't help him with why Naruto was killed. In fact, that just raised even more questions about _**why**_ someone would want to kill the blond haired youth. Shaking his head of those thoughts, Sasuke gave an annoyed look to the Hyuuga girl while walking over to her.

"Focus, look for something unusual besides that energy…" Sasuke ordered sharply and the Hyuuga heiress slowly nodded her head before looking around once more. Walking wherever the energy blocked her sight she soon stopped and widened her eyes in shock.

"Th-There's a tunnel h-here!" She stated and Sasuke quickly moved over to her and looked around for a moment before giving her a look. "Th-The energy m-must've m-masked it from th-the other Hyuuga in the AnBu." Hinata noted in explanation and Sasuke grunted before kneeling down and placing his hand down.

"Here?" He asked and Hinata moved her foot to show him where she saw the tunnel, Sasuke digging his hand into the dirt and smirking when it gave way. "Good thing it hasn't rained in a while." He mumbled to himself before digging out the entrance to the tunnel, and then looked back to the Hyuuga girl. "How far down does this thing go?" The dark haired youth questioned and Hinata shook her head with a frown.

"T-Too far to see." She replied and Sasuke clicked his tongue for a moment before rubbing his chin.

"Can you tell who used it?" Sasuke asked her and she looked into the tunnel and widened her eyes seeing a bloody trail going down its length.

"B-Blood!" She said in shock and Sasuke palmed his face for a moment and then rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Naruto lost a lot of blood… but the guy who attacked him, they supposedly found a metal glove in the ruins… so maybe…" Sasuke mumbled under his breath for a moment before looking up to Hinata with a slight smirk. "So maybe Naruto _**didn't**_ die that night." Sasuke finished and saw Hinata's eyes go wide while he looked down into the tunnel below with a calculative look in his eyes. "And there's only one way I know to find out if he is or not." Sasuke noted while sliding his legs into the tunnel and Hinata quickly stopped the young Uchiha.

"B-But we don't kn-know how far d-down it is, or if th-there's a w-way out or…" Hinata tried to tell the Uchiha only for him to brush her hand off of himself and give her a stern glare.

"I don't care, if the Dobe really _**is**_ alive, he might be in trouble from whoever was chasing him in the first place." Sasuke reminded the girl and she took a step back while poking her fingers together once more. _'And this time, I won't let someone else die when I can change it.'_ Sasuke thought to himself while turning and looking back into the darkness of the tunnel.

"W-Why do you c-care so much?" Hinata questioned and Sasuke scoffed before looking at her with a slight frown.

"I don't really care about the Dobe, but I'm not about to just let him die." Sasuke replied before pushing himself down into the tunnel and slid a fair ways down, Hinata kneeling down and watching him fall even out of her sight. Looking down into the tunnel nervously for a moment, the young Hyuuga then let out a breath and followed the young Uchiha into the Depths of Darkness. As soon as both were gone, Sylvanas slid down into the basement behind them and walked over to the tunnel. _'I knew you wouldn't die so easily…'_ She thought to herself before slipping into the tunnel, grunting as it was a bit of a tight fit for her, even with her slim frame.

Gripping the sides of the tunnel, Sylvanas then clawed it out a bit causing it to grow unstable as she then flung herself down into it's length. Clawing out the sides on her way down, she closed the only exit into the tunnel as it collapsed behind her, leaving her, the young Hyuuga, and the Uchiha as the only people alive or otherwise aware of it's existence… which was exactly as she wanted it to stay.

(Albion…)

An old woman stood atop a hill, her eyes were pure milky white with blindness, and yet an amused smile crossed her lips at a flash in the distant horizons. "He finds you when you're sleeping…" She whispered while looking out towards Bowerstone lake and then folded her hands together. "And when the daylight fades…" She continued to say as she walked through a small settlement of gypsies with a smirk. "He watches while you're running…" She continued to say in an odd verse, the strange little smile still touching at the edges of her lips. "And while you're trying to hide…" She continued to say as a gate was lowered and she walked out passed it silently.

"He hears you when you're praying… and when you scream in fear…" She continued once more before stopping at the edge of a bridge and placing a ringed hand onto a guardrail. "He knows when you're dreaming… and strikes when the lights grow dim…" The woman whispered while reaching up to her hood and then drew it back, her features changing as a mass of shifting shadows covered them. Revealed is a woman with pale skin, her face remarkably young considering what it looked like a moment before, her eyes covered by bloodied bandages and a faded red tattoo at her brow, her hair is long and red with a single black streak at her forehead, her lips left uncolored suddenly quirked into an amused smile as she looked out into the distance.

"He finds you when you're sleeping, and when the daylight fades… He knows you can't escape him, and waits for you to fail…" The woman continued saying ominously while pulling her hood back up, her features returning to that of an old blind woman as she did. Turning on her heel the old woman made her way down the hill, her shadow seeming to twist and morph. "And you know his name…" She started to say before smiling ever so slightly as she turned to make her way towards where the light had been. "It's _**Jack of Blades**_…" She finished while making her way towards where the young Overlord was undoubtedly waiting for her…

TBC…

AN: Here's a pic of what Naruto looks like / wears in this story, The Design is loosely based on the designs for The Dragon Born (Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Trailers), Flemeth (Dragon Age 2), Jack of Blades (Fable), "Bandit Queen" Theresa (Fable 1), Mumm-Ra (ThunderCats), Sylvanas Windrunner (World of Warcraft), Souron (Of course)(The Lord of The Rings), The Overlord of Nordberg (Overlord 2), and to those who have wondered if he'll ever become a Dragon well… just remove the spaces. http : /26lordpain . deviantart . com/gallery/?offset=24#/d4hawi7


	15. Prince of Blades

**Disclaimer**: I own anything within; this story is merely a way for me to alleviate boredom…

[Gnarl: And we're back once more!

Doc: Aye, but what happened to Jester?

Snake: He's… indisposed…

Giblet: What dat mean?

Shin: It means we won't be seeing him for quite a while…

Gnarl: Good riddance! He was a nuisance!

Lord Pain: Shut up all of you! Start the damn fic!

Gobby: Aye, at once sire!]

_Companions_:

**Zim**: Inactive

**Tak**: Inactive

**Tora**: Inactive

**Grunge**: Inactive

**Manasa**: Inactive

**Slythe**: Inactive

**Panthro**: Inactive

**Azula**: Inactive

_Horde Size_: 0

_Active Minions in Horde_: 0

_Other_: 5 Primary Grays, 5 Primary Browns, 5 Primary Greens

_**NU**_: _**Dark Lord**_ +

_**Chapter 13**_: _**Prince of Blades**_…

"Normal Speech"…

'_Normal Thoughts_'…

[Radio/Tower Heart In Use]…

"**Jutsu In Use**"…

"**Demon Speech**"…

'_**Demon Thoughts**_'…

"_**Inner Spirit Speech**_"…

(Underworld, Castle-Plun-Darr…)

Deep beneath the castle, the chief engineer of The Overlord's armies, Echo of the Goblins, looked at the blueprints to one of his newest inventions with a slight frown. He was working on making a blimp, only with the idea of making it more mobile or at least make controlling it a bit easier than what the Goblins of Azeroth had to deal with. The only problem he was having at the moment was that he didn't have the proper materials to build his device. "Golly, what's that?" A feminine voice chirped and Echo blinked before nearly jumping back upon seeing the Ratonga girl Gadget looking at his blueprints from his side.

"Uh… who are you and what are you doing in my workplace?" Echo questioned while arching a brow, the little Ratonga blinking behind her goggles before smiling.

"I'm Gadget, a Ratonga engineer." She replied before rubbing her chin as she looked over the blueprints that Echo had made out. "Say, wouldn't it be easier to make this out of something lighter than Duriam or Steel?" She asked while picking up the blueprints and gazing at the design while Echo twitched. "It'd also help speed it up a bit if you didn't make it out of metal." She noted aloud and Echo crossed his arms over his chest and gave the Ratonga girl an annoyed glare.

"Perhaps but a wooden weapon would be too susceptible to fire. Also, it'd be a poor vehicle for combat purposes." Echo retorted and yet Gadget seemed to ignore him as she rubbed her chin for a moment and looked back at him.

"But if it was faster you wouldn't have to worry about fighting with it at all." She stated and then laid the blueprints back out while lightly tapping on it and Echo pressed down on her head with a frown.

"Look, we're going to be fighting a war soon. I personally don't like it, and I know that our Overlord doesn't want to admit it, but there is no possible way that we can avoid fighting against the forces of light." Echo stated and Gadget blinked while the half-Goblin then pushed her away from his blueprints with a frown. "So the ships need to be armored if we're going to be able to use them for more than just simple transport." Echo stated and then blinked when he noticed his blueprints were gone, and then growled upon seeing Gadget looking at them curiously.

"Still, if you just increase it's mobility and it's maneuvering capabilities a bit you might just be able to dodge and weave around any kind of attack the could send at you…" Gadget noted while Echo twitched and clenched a fist with a growl while stomping over to the Ratonga girl. "Yeah, just add something here to steer it, maybe a way of letting it glide without the balloon…" Gadget started to say to herself only for Echo to snatch the blueprints from her hands once more and then glare at her heatedly.

"Well missy, maybe that's so, but unfortunately something like that would have to be smaller than that and even then they wouldn't be able to carry our forces now would it?" Echo retorted and Gadget hummed lightly for a moment before suddenly looking at the half-goblin.

"Well no, I guess that wouldn't work out well for something like that. But could you imagine if we made personal fighters with this design configuration instead of nothing but massive armored carriers? I don't think the Goblins or even the Gnomes in Azeroth have ever thought of anything like that." Gadget retorted with a smile on her face and Echo blinked for a moment before rubbing his chin. He could admit to hearing a good idea when he did, nor was he exactly a fan of the whole "bigger is better" mentality of other Engineers from Goblins… but still, the idea of a personal, small fighter of some kind was a bit out there, especially since it'd be all but impossible to arm it.

"Maybe… but what kind of weaponry do you expect us to put on a craft that small?" Echo retorted and Gadget blinked for a few moments before tilting her head to one side.

"Weapons?" She asked and Echo slapped his face with a deep scowl on his face.

"Yeah, you know, to help fight enemies with? If it's bigger you can put more weapons on it like maybe a cannon or something similar… but a small ship like you're suggesting couldn't handle that kind of weight." Echo growled out and Gadget let out a light hum in thought before snapping her fingers.

"Oh! Then what about a light weapon like a Harpoon or something?" Gadget offered and Echo slapped his face with a deep scowl on his face.

"How in the hell do you expect a light weapon like a Harpoon to be of any effect to armored troops from the air? Arrows maybe, but then you'd have the problem of having to constantly reload them!" Echo growled at the Ratonga girl and she huffed while placing her hands onto her hips.

"Well at least I'm open to the possibility of a light fighter of some kind." Gadget grumbled out and Echo slapped his face, muttering under his breath for a moment and returning to his work.

"Just shut up and go away, I have work to do…" Echo grumbled while motioning for the young blond Ratonga to go away, Gadget frowning as she saw the half-goblin scribbling something on his blueprints. Biting her lip as she saw what the Half-Goblin engineer was scribbling, Gadget then tried to grab the blueprints from him.

"But if you just…" She tried to say and Echo twitched while glaring at her fiercely, then pushed down on her head in an attempt to get her to go away.

"I know what I'm doing!" He declared loudly, while at the doorway to the room, Tak was leaning against the frame with a smirk on her face. _'Looks like big brother made himself a new friend.'_ She noted to herself while shaking her head as she pushed off of the doorframe and made her way into Castle-Plun-Darr…

Elsewhere in Castle-Plun-Darr, Naruto walks alongside Gnarl with Ayame trailing behind him as they approach a large room. Naruto raising a brow when he sees the odd Archon boy he'd fought against earlier "Will" sitting down in front of the room with his arms crossed. "Ah yes sire, we managed to convince young Will here to join our cause, however he has requested to accompany you to Albion." Gnarl noted while motioning to the youth who pushed himself up to show he was wearing a few more clothes and some padding under his cloak now with a mask over his face as well. The boy then gave a slight bow at the waist while looking to the young Overlord.

"Vendui, ussta kaas zhah Will." (*1) The youth offered in a strange language and Naruto raised a brow before looking over to Gnarl with a frown.

"I think he just introduced himself… but… that dialect is a little odd even for elvish." Naruto noted while scratching his head, Gnarl staring at him for a moment before grinning slightly.

"Yes, he speaks Drow and I think he also knows some amount of Underspeak, but that can wait. Sire, do you mean to say that actually speak elvish?" Gnarl questioned and Naruto grinned nervously behind his mask. Truth be told he learned it from Sylvanas when she first found him, said something about it being an easy way for him to hide what he was saying from others, never told him why that would be necessary but Naruto figured it was for a situation where he had to tell the truth and so could do so without fear of them understanding.

"I speak Thalassian fluently, as well as Gutter-Speak, some Orcish, and a little Goblin." Naruto admitted with a small amount of pride while giving the aged Minion-Master a flat look, said grey looking at him in surprise. Behind him Ayame also gaped, wondering when Naruto had taken the time to learn those languages… or who had actually taught him languages she'd never even heard of before!

"Master… where exactly did you learn Gutter-Spear or Thalassian? Those are dialects that are strictly native to Azeroth…" Gnarl noted while looking to the blond haired Overlord-in-Training, and Naruto blinked for a moment before chuckling nervously and scratching the side of his cheek.

"Uh… can we not talk about that, it's sort of personal." Naruto replied and both Gnarl and Ayame looked at the blond strangely, both wondering what he meant by it being personal.

"Uh… of course sire, if that is what you wish." Gnarl replied and then cleared his throat while looking back over to Will, who seemed rather bored now. Looking at the brown haired youth with a frown, Naruto then looked back over to Gnarl curiously.

"So can he speak any Common?" Naruto questioned while referring to the basic language that most people used, though admittedly no Shinobi used it.

"Unfortunately no, he can understand it for some reason, but it seems that his education is somewhat… limited. And from the scarring and the fact that he speaks Drow, we assume that he was once a slave to the Drow." Gnarl replied and Naruto hummed lightly to himself while looking at the brown haired boy. Ayame however walked forward with a look of shock while gazing at the brown haired boy.

"He was a slave?" Ayame questioned with concern on her face and yet Gnarl merely rolled his eyes and yawned.

"Aye, but that isn't so remarkable, the Drow are slavers, though I have to admit that they are far more brutal as taskmasters than even the Orcs… The Gnolls are also slavers, and extremely good at it, the only thing the Drow admire about them actually is that Gnolls can break a slaves mind so thoroughly that it's as if they themselves were a Gnoll by the point they're done." Gnarl replied thoughtfully, Naruto and Ayame shivering at that unneeded tidbit of information on Shenzi and her people. In all honesty Naruto was still a little freaked with the carrion eating they did, adding slavery to the mix just made the Gnolls even more disgusting than he already thought about them, and Ayame didn't think much better of them either…

"Okay, so you were going to send me to Albion…" Naruto reminded the Minion Master with a shake of his head and Gnarl grinned nervously before nodding. Turning on his heel the old Minion-Master hobbled off with Naruto, Ayame, and now Will following after him as he went.

"Right sire, forgive me for forgetting we have a purpose down here. I've been a bit too preoccupied as of late with getting everything down here ship-shape." Gnarl noted and Naruto mentally rolled his eyes while physically crossing his arms over his chest as they entered into a circular room with the tower transport-generator in it center.

"I remember that thing…" Naruto noted mostly to himself while Gnarl nodded his head with a grin and hobbled over to the transport generator.

"Aye sire, this is the Tower-Transport-Generator, though I suppose for the moment you can replace Tower with Castle." Gnarl replied while Naruto just watched the old Grey Minion, who reached up to the generator and placed the Guild Seal on a plate. Instantly the transport-generator seemed to unfold, several ramps folding down from its sides while the top completely opened up. Seconds later a large transparent globe formed over the tope of the transport-generator, Naruto and Ayame both gaping as they saw for the first time the sheer size of their world.

"Whoa…" Naruto whispered in awe when he saw a red blip where he suspected the Elemental nations were. Will however didn't seem too impressed, but then again he wasn't exactly well educated, nor was he really all that interested in how large the world really was. Gnarl however grinned slightly at the look of his master and then patted the transport-generator before clearing his throat.

"Now then sire, this is the transport-generator, not only can it teleport you to distant lands, but it can also give you a Castle-stone which will form a Tower I mean Castle-Gate in the place of your choosing to allow the Tower… I meant Castle-Heart to transport you back there at any given time you so choose." Gnarl explained while a crimson red stone rolled down the length of one of the ramps to catch at the end. Reaching for it, Gnarl took the castle-stone and then hobbled over to Naruto and offered it to him. Blinking for a moment, Naruto took the crimson red stone and looked it over before watching as Gnarl hobbled back over to the Castle-Transport-Generator.

"Now to operate the Transport Generator, all you do is just choose an available field and you'll be sent directly to a new land. However if you wish to take someone I would suggest that they stand close enough to you for it to work." Gnarl then explained and Naruto slowly nodded his head before giving Ayame a look, the brunette blinking before backing away while Will walked to the young Overlord's side with his arms crossed over his chest. Naruto however then walked forward with Will and looked over the strange globe before seeing a symbol on a rather small continent.

"Then this is Albion?" Naruto questioned and Gnarl silently nodded his head while the blond haired youth reached a hand forward and touched the continent. Instantly Naruto and will were surrounded by a ripple of magic and sparks, a light hum echoing out as they then disappeared into thin air…

However, as soon as he was surrounded by the magic, Will suddenly gasped as flames roared to life all around him. _**"Cherish the life, that I saved…"**_ A sinister voice whispered into the youth's ears while five metal claws seemed to form from the flames as if holding him within the palm of some great monster. _**"Always remember, the deal that was made…"**_ That same sinister voice uttered while Will suddenly turned and looked back to see a being dressed in red, a porcelain mask of white red and blue gazing down at him with sinister yellow eyes. _**"And never forget, the debt to be paid!"**_ The sinister being declared ominously while clenching his metal-claw covered hand over the flames and boy…

(Underworld…)

Sasuke groaned while slipping out of the tunnel he and Hinata had entered, then looked around with a frown. The area was completely dark, annoying him as he didn't have anything for light on his person. _'I've really got to think things through next time.'_ Sasuke mentally decided while turning at a glow and saw Hinata pulling herself out of the tunnel with a seal tag on her shoulder glowing brightly. "Why do you have something like that?" Sasuke questioned with a raised brow, deciding he really didn't care to know where she got it as he could just find out for himself later…

"M-My tou-san… he wanted m-me to h-have them f-for when I travel at n-night." Hinata replied while idly poking her fingers together and Sasuke hunned lightly before watching the girl looking around and then stop at something. "There!" She said urgently while rushing to the side and Sasuke followed her with a frown, arms crossed over his chest. "It's N-Naruto's jacket!" The girl stated and Sasuke walked over with a frown before narrowing his eyes on the jacket.

"Hnn… it's bloody and battered… we can most definitely say that he really was attacked by someone." Sasuke noted mostly to himself and then looked around with a frown and grabbed Hinata. "Walk around, lets see if we can find any trace of his body down here as well." Sasuke ordered, Hinata flinching for a moment at the thought of finding Naruto's "body" before doing as told. Walking around the cave for a few minutes, the two stopped at a throne made of stones and saw a bloodstain on it, and then noticed an old sack that had been tossed to the side as well. However, Hinata's hopes continued to grow as they soon searched the entire cave with no sign of a body anywhere.

"It's… its n-not here! Then N-Naruto-Kun m-must still be alive!" Hinata said to herself happily, Sasuke frowning to himself for a moment before rubbing his chin.

"Or that someone just dragged his body somewhere else…" Sasuke reminded the dark haired Hyuuga heiress, causing her to flinch and look down while the Uchiha heir rubbed his chin with a thoughtful frown on his face. "We should look for another way out and see if we can find him somewhere down here. If he is still alive, then he'll probably need help." Sasuke stated while Hinata blinked and then nodded her head in agreement, both young heirs making their way towards an exit where Sasuke saw tracks below their feet and narrowed his eyes with a deep frown.

'_Someone did find Naruto… but… these tracks suggest it was someone small… not like the behemoth that was described in the reports. Dammit, I find Naruto and yet now I have even more questions. Why didn't he come back to Konoha? Who attacked him and for what purpose? Who found him down here? What is he doing down here now? And… is he still alive?'_ Sasuke thought to himself in question as he and Hinata walked further into the darkness of the subterranean tunnels. Had either of them looked back, they might've seen a pair of familiar glowing crimson red eyes glare at them as they went before stealthily following behind them…

(?)

_Naruto walked into an old building that was hidden deep within the forests that surround Konoha. It is a place that has been lost to time and to legend, an ancient tavern that was no longer used by man, dwarf, or even elf. Drawn by a haunting voice echoing out endlessly into the night, Naruto soon entered into the ancient tavern without concern or fear. It is a small place, filled with a single other patron, and grisly trophies that have nearly rotted away, the haunting voice is now all around the blond. Silently lifting his head, Naruto closed his eyes as the ancient melody echoed in his ears and heart, his mind and soul were soon lost in its haunting call._

"_It's truly beautiful isn't it?" Sylvanas noted aloud, eyes closed as the song echoed out once more, while she rested in the rafters with a coy smile on her lips. Naruto nodded his head silently at first, eyes closed as he basked in the beautiful melody that was whispered in an ancient Elvish even Sylvanas couldn't understand. "I think I might loose a piece of myself every time I hear her sing… I've heard her sing a hundred times, yet still, it still moves me." Sylvanas noted aloud almost fondly, her crimson red eyes briefly gazing to where Naruto was still standing and silently listening to the song that was sung by a ghostly elven woman…_

"_Where do you think the song comes from?" Naruto suddenly questioned and Sylvanas looked down at him for a moment before smiling sadly._

"_It's the spirit of an elven woman… she still haunts this place it seems, and her song echoes every couple of nights." Sylvanas replied and Naruto lowered his head, knowing that Sylvanas most likely felt some form of sorrow for the elven spirit that still inhabited this broken, ancient and decrepit tavern in the middle of nowhere._

"_Why do you think she still sings, Sylvanas-Hime?" Naruto questioned of the elven banshee-queen who silently glanced at him for only a moment before leaning back to listen only to the haunting melody the ghost was singing. However it was in vain, for even with her long life the speech of the elven spirit was old, older than her, possibly older than even the tavern it now haunted. A truly sad thing, yet in some way she was pleased that the spirit remained, for the song was old, and if nothing else, it was all that remained of the ancient elven culture that had undoubtedly once existed in the lands that her surrogate son lived in…_

"_I don't really know… perhaps she sings for the loss of her people, perhaps she sings for the forgotten soldiers lost to time, or perhaps she even sings for a lost love, a soldier who died in an ancient war even… perhaps she sings, so that he might find his way back to her." Sylvanas replied before closing her eyes and bringing her legs up to place her chin on top of her knees with a slightly sad frown on her face. "Whatever the case may be, Naruto, what matters is not why she sings, but that she does. She uses the only proof of her people, their language, her song…" Sylvanas then stated and Naruto tilted his head to one side while looking up at his mother figure with a frown._

"_Why is that all that remains of her people? Aren't there any other elves out there like you?" Naruto questioned of the crimson-eyed banshee queen and she was silent for a moment before sighing softly._

"_Naruto… how many elves have you met besides myself?" Sylvanas questioned of her young charge and the blond looked down as the blond woman nodded her head. "None. Because this spirit is all that remains of them, she is ironically the sole survivor of her people… and all she can do is sing." Sylvanas explained to the young blond haired youth and then leaned back into the wall before letting out a slightly bitter sounding chuckle as her eyes became downcast. "In all honesty… I'm actually jealous of her, and I envy her… I envy the kind of life she lives here…" Sylvanas admitted while laying her head on her knees eyes unfocussed as the elven woman's song echoed out endlessly…_

"_To live a life spreading such beauty to all who hear her wondrous song instead of spreading war with a word, to bring peace and serenity instead of violence and death… to be able to give such a gift to the people that listen to her song, rather than take their lives, she is far luckier than I." Sylvanas noted mostly to herself and Naruto frowned while looking up to his Mother-Figure and then crossed his arms, even as the song started back up again and he felt his mind drift._

"_Maybe… maybe she's sad too Sylvanas-Hime…" Naruto started and the Dark Lady looked over at him for a moment, silent as the grave as he reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. "Maybe… maybe she's always singing, always letting us know she's here… because she doesn't want to be alone anymore…" Naruto offered and saw Sylvanas blink, both looking around as the song changed, becoming a whispered hum that seemed to echo out even more hauntingly than the words had before. Sylvanas then slipped from her perch and to the ground before walking over to Naruto, the blond looking up at her questioningly as she smiled softly._

"_Perhaps she is lonely… and if so, then I am glad to not be alone as well." Sylvanas offered while patting Naruto on the head, the blond frowning to himself when she did so…_

(Bowerstone Field…)

Naruto's eyes snapped open as the memory faded, before shaking his head and then glancing over at Will as the youth slowly got back to his feet, swaying on his feet for a moment before placing his hands to his head. "I really don't like that transport beam, how 'bout you?" Naruto asked while looking to the cloaked youth and Will shook his head, then blinked his glowing eyes open and closed a few times while trying to steady himself. Rolling his eyes at that, Naruto looked to the tower gem in his hand and hummed lightly while looking around for a suitable place for it.

'_We seem to be fairly out of the way wherever we are in Albion, thank goodness for small miracles at least. But I don't seem to be able to contact Gnarl, so I must need to get that Castle-Gate thing up and running before it'll work again…'_ Naruto reasoned as they were in a vast field, a lake over to the other side over the snow-covered land, a camp of people visible to one side and a forest behind where they were standing.

"C'mon, lets get a little farther away and then we can set the Castle-Gate up so we can get home when we're done…" Naruto stated while looking to Will, the youth silently nodding his head in agreement with the blond. Making their way further from the Gypsy camp, Naruto and Will came to a small clearing beside of the lake due south of the forest. Kneeling down, Naruto then placed the Castle-Gem into the ground before stepping on it for good measure and taking a few steps back, Will following his lead. Almost instantly a series of black spikes rose out of the ground, surrounding a large platform almost like a monster's claws.

"Well that's interesting if nothing else…" Naruto decided before looking to Will who looked somewhat bored as he glanced around every now and then.

_[Master? Can you hear me? Hello, is this bloody thing even on?]_ Gnarl's voice suddenly echoed out and Naruto chuckled slightly before shaking his head and crossing his arms over his chest.

'_I'm here Gnarl, and me and Will are fine on our end, though I have no clue where the hell we are…'_ Naruto admitted while looking around the area again, Gnarl humming lightly at that tidbit of information.

_[Really? Well that's odd, you should've landed in the old Heroes' Academy that was just outside of Bowerstone… unless someone finally destroyed it! Oh, wouldn't that be just wonderful sire?]_ Gnarl questioned of the young Overlord with a grin in his tone and Naruto mentally rolled his eyes before replying.

'_Yeah sure, but my point is this, do you have any clue where we are?'_ Naruto asked the old Minion-Master who shook his head and hummed while looking over the map from his end of the link with a frown.

_[Well I'll be… you're directly where The Heroes' Academy once stood… seems it really was destroyed… HA! Finally! I think we're rid of blasted self-righteous heroes always popping out of the goddamned woodworks wherever the bloody hell we go!]_ Gnarl declared with a grin in his tone, and Naruto wondered why that was making him so happy, and then raised a brow upon hearing the clinking of glasses… _[Giblet! Bring me some wine! And pass out the beer to the Minions! We must celebrate the death of the heroes in that academy, and with them their stupid bloody teachings! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!]_ Gnarl declared, causing Naruto to palm his face and cut the link with a twitch…

'_As if the Minions weren't already crazy enough, now he's getting them all drunk too? Ugh… I do not envy the servants once that little celebration is finally over… and I have the distinct feeling that Gnarl won't be any help for a while either.'_ Naruto thought with a shake of his head and then looked over to Will, who was sitting down and somehow floating in midair… "You have got to teach me how you do that." Naruto stated while pointing at the youth, who merely tilted his head to one side as if in question of what Naruto meant… or more likely he was just trying to weasel his way out of teaching the older boy anything.

Rolling his eyes, Naruto then motioned for Will to follow and the two walked across Bowerstone-Fields. Naruto then crossed his arms as they approached a forest with a sign that pointed towards Bowerstone-City, however stopped at a cry. Turning, Naruto saw Will quickly dart off in the direction of the cry and palmed his face in annoyance. _'Do I act like that?'_ The blond wondered briefly before running after the youth who slid to a halt when he came towards two men running out of the forest with wide frightened eyes and sweat pouring down their bodies… which was quite a feat considering that it was the middle of winter…

"Run for your lives!" One of the men declared loudly, his eyes frantic while he was completely bald, both he and his brother looking to be in their late teens to early twenties and thereby significantly older than Naruto or Will.

"Run-Away run-away run-away!" The second man exclaimed loudly, having long black hair pulled into a low ponytail unlike the first. Both men however dressed the same, having a blue cuffed overcoat that was left open, a weaved brown leather shirt, a chain lopped around their waist as belts, brown slacks, and a pair of high-class-boots. Raising a brow as the two approached them, Naruto then twitched as both men ducked behind him and Will…

"Oh this is just _**sad**_…" Naruto groaned out while palming his face once more, and getting the distinct feeling that it would be happening quite often from now on. Will silently nodded his own head in agreement, a deadpan look on his face as he looked down at the two cowering men with disgust. Letting out a grunt, Naruto then reached down and picked up the bald man by his collar before glaring into his eyes with a frown. "Who the hell are you, and what the hell are you running from?" The blond deadpanned and the bald man blinked for a moment before looking to the other, who was clearly his brother / twin, and then gulped.

"I'm Sam Spade." Sam, the bald one, replied while his brother slowly rose up while placing his hands on Will's shoulders and half using him as a shield.

"And I'm Max Spade." Max, the one with the ponytail, added and Naruto saw Will twitch in annoyance. Whether it was from the fact that Max was basically using him as a human meat-shield, or that he could possibly know the two from somewhere, Naruto didn't really know, nor did he really want to know.

"And we're running from… f-from them!" Sam declared while pointing over Naruto's shoulder to an incoming horde of Zombie like monstrosities. However upon seeing them, Naruto winced in a mix of sympathy and pity as unlike Sylvanas, who somehow retained her beauty, these sorry bastards were rotting carcasses that shuffled about with no speed, their gangly limbs barely holding up as they threatened to fall off of their withered frames from the weight of their armor or weapons…

"Unholy-Shit that is a lot of Zombies… and for that matter, just how the hell did you two idiots piss off a pack of Zombies?" Naruto asked seriously, as most Zombies he'd ever heard of weren't really violent enough to chase someone very far for no apparent reason. But then again, The Forsaken were nothing like these, and definitely nothing like the ancient mindless Zombies of legend… they at least had enough sense of self that they didn't just randomly kill someone and then eat only a bite of two out of whatever they feasted on, thus making another Zombie and thereby another mouth to fed. Nah, they usually ate everything and even picked the bones clean so that wouldn't happen at all, if they could help it.

"Does it really matter what happened?" Sam questioned while trying to slip and hide behind Naruto, the blond twitching as he glared at the man. "I mean, especially when we're about to be eaten by a horde of bloody Hollow Men!" Sam declared loudly and Naruto grunted while looking away from and then dropping the man to the ground. Turning on his heel, the blond haired youth then looked from the incoming "Hollow Men" and to Will.

"I'll take the ugly ones." Naruto offered while pointing to himself and saw a pricelessly confused look cross over the young Archon's face.

"Vel'bolen uss zhah l' nempori uss?" (*2) Will questioned with a raised brow and Naruto made a note to learn some Drow in the future so he could actually understand what the boy was even saying to him.

"Right… then at least watch my back for me." Naruto stated and Will seemed to frown while giving him a rather strange look.

"Nindyn vel'uss kyorl nind ratha thalra elyhinn dal lil alust." (*3) Will stated rather condescendingly and Naruto made a note to find out what it was that the boy had just said so he could figure out if he should be angry at him or not. Shaking his head of that thought, Naruto then formed a bit of fire into his hand, eyes narrowing while Will did the same with the hand covered by the flame Gauntlet. However Will then raised his other hand up and slammed two fireballs together causing the flaming mass between his hands to shift and twist between his hands. Just as the Hollow Men approached them, Will slammed his hands into the ground, a wave of fire rolling outwards from him.

The flames roared outwards and tore their way through many of the Hollow-Men, Naruto blinking as soon enough only a handful of them were left. "You have got to teach me how to do that…" Naruto stated while looking to Will, who yet again seemed to ignore his statement. Instead, the boy held his hands to either side and then threw them forward, sending out a wave of magic that threw the Hollow-Men back. Rolling his eyes, Naruto threw a fireball at one of the Hollow-men before reaching back and tapped on his Faerie Satchel. Instantly Kori flew out of it and hovered over his shoulders with a slight smile on her face.

"You need Kori, master?" She questioned and Naruto nodded towards the incoming Hollow-Men and Kori frowned while looking up at them. "Hollow-Men, they who are even more pitiful than normal Zombies…" Kori muttered and Naruto glared at her for the crack, though he knew Sylvanas was not a "Zombie", or at least not a typical one, he still didn't like her badmouthing the undead. "Allow Kori to deal with a few Hollow-Men, master, none shall escape Kori's flames!" The tiny-Unseelie queen declared with a slightly wild look and Naruto just pulled the Sword of Plun-Darr from his side and twirled it in hand. Instantly a pair of flame shaped blades extended from the weapon, fire roaring to life along its length.

"Just get to work while me and Will handle the ones you don't…" Naruto grumbled as he felt like he was getting more and more irritated the longer he stayed in Albion. Nodding her head, Kori lunged forward and quickly spun into a circle to make a spinning wheel of fire. The tiny Unseelie Queen then spun forward setting several of the Hollow-Men ablaze while Naruto lunged forward and ducked into a swing with the Sword of Plun-Darr. Slicing one of the Hollow-Men in half, Naruto managed to restrain himself from wincing. _'These guys don't have any intelligence, or at least not much, Sylvanas-Hime wouldn't mind me dicing them up to save myself.'_ Naruto assured himself while grasping the Sword of Plun-Darr with both hands before twisting into a slash.

Another Hollow-Man's head fell away while Will formed a ball of pure magical energy into his hands before pushing it forward, blasting a Hollow-Man into one of those who was on fire. Kori twisted and flew through the air, the weapons of The Hollow-Men not even reaching her as she then formed several fireballs into her hands and started to lob them down at the mindless cadavers. Twisting and dodging the weapons of the Hollow-Men, Naruto then spun the Sword of Plun-Darr and was surprised as a tornado of fire was unleashed from the blade before ripping it's way through the Hollow-Men and lighting the rest on fire…

'_Whoa… I had no idea it could do that.'_ Naruto thought while looking at the sword and then had it retract its blades before stowing it away, Kori flying down to land on his shoulder with a smile. Looking around, Naruto then scratching his head, wondering how they dealt with all those Hollow-Men so quickly. "That was it? I thought it was a lot tougher to deal with Zombies…" Naruto mumbled and Will nodded his head in agreement with the young Overlord, Kori giggling to herself when he did.

"Oh Master, Hollow-Men weak, they but corpses animated by Wisps. So weak that bodies cannot take same amount of stress that even normal Zombie could." Kori explained and Naruto nodded his head slowly in understanding, and then mentally grinned as that also meant that he hadn't technically killed any Undead. After all, if they were made to move by wisps and not their own power, they weren't really alive or undead at all, just controlled by magically empowered souls.

"Well in any case, at least we've gotten rid of all of them…" Naruto noted while crossing his arms over his chest and Kori nodded her head with a smile.

"Indeed Master! The battle was most short; Hollow-Men truly unworthy foes! Ha ha! All burn before might of Kori and Kori's great and powerful master!" The tiny Unseelie Queen declared before giggling to herself girlishly and causing Naruto to pinch the bridge of his nose with a frown. _'How does she go from psychopath to cutesy little fairy so quick?'_ Naruto had to wonder before looking down and scowled upon seeing Sam and Max now hugging his and Will's legs tightly.

"You saved us!" One of them cried, Naruto unable to tell which as they had similar enough voices at the moment that he couldn't tell them apart, plus he couldn't see which of their mouths had moved.

"Thank you, milord! You have no idea how grateful we are for this daring rescue!" The other declared and Naruto couldn't help but twitch before growling low in his throat and glaring down at them.

"Get the hell off of me!" Naruto shouted while kicking, he thought it was Sam, off of himself and Will did the same, Kori giggling when he did so.

"Stupid humans should know better, they not worthy to touch Kori's master!" Kori stated rather condescendingly and Naruto gave her an annoyed look before glaring at Sam and Max as they got back up.

"Now could you morons please tell me what you did that got all of those Hollow-Men gunning after your asses?" Naruto questioned flatly and Sam and Max quickly got up and brushed themselves off for a moment.

"To the truth, we were jus' exploring this cave over that way…" Sam started to explain while pointing in the direction of a small cave in the distance and Max quickly decided to pick up for his brother.

"Aye, and while we were exploring for a bit, we found this ol' idol ju' sitting there." Max explained and Naruto hummed in thought, rubbing his chin with a deep frown. _'Sounds like the disturbed a holy artifact and got it's guardians on their asses, man they're dumb… I should've just let those Hollow-Men eat them.'_ Naruto thought to himself as contrary to the belief of many in Konoha, he wasn't stupid, he was just more intelligent in this type of situation. "Unfortunately dunderhead here had to go and try to pick the bloody thing up!" Max continued to explain while glaring at his brother and Sam gave him a glare.

"Me! You're the one who said nothing would bloody well happen if we jus' took a closer look at it!" Sam shouted at his brother and Naruto reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose, wondering if everyone in Albion was this stupid or not…

"Well you're the stupid bloody git who _**listened**_ to me!" Max retorted and Will seemed to twitch while palming his face, feeling a bit of pain at actually coming from the same lands as these two morons.

"Oh right, and I suppose the time we had Banshee's chasing us was my fault as well!" Sam shouted at Max and Naruto raised a brow, wondering how the hell the two had encountered Banshee's and survived to tell the tale…

"It was! You pissed on her bloody headstone!" Max declared and Naruto was starting to wish he had something heavy he could hit himself with, or the two morons with, repeatedly and often…

"I didn't see it! Not my fault they hid the bloody thing!" Sam retorted and Kori felt her brow twitch and then flew from Naruto's shoulder and stood between both men with her hands on her hips.

"Idiots be silent!" Kori ordered and Sam and Max blinked while gazing at the red-haired Unseelie queen as she then nodded her head proudly. "Done. Kori not like stupid idiots talking so much, it make Kori's head hurt." Kori noted to herself while flying back over to Naruto and the blond mentally thanked his familiar before looking back at Sam and Max with a deep frown on his face.

"Alright, enough of this blame game you idiots, now did the idol summon anymore Hollow-Men?" Naruto questioned of the two-morons and Sam and Max stopped and thought about it for a moment. Naruto palmed his face as they did, wondering how they would need to think about whether or not they saw it summon more than just the pack of Hollow-Men that came after them… _'I swear, I'm so totally destroying these two some day, their stupidity must not be allowed to endure.'_ Naruto mentally decided while Sam and Max looked to one another with curious expressions.

"I'm not rightly sure… it could've… but we sort of ran away as soon as the first batch came after us…" Sam admitted and Naruto felt his brow twitch before letting out a deep breath and glaring at the two-morons.

"Great… now we might have an undead army waiting to destroy all life… why in the hell does this shit have to happen to me?" Naruto demanded of no one while walking towards the Cave, Will, Sam and Max following behind him as he went, the young Archon smirking towards him.

"Mayoe ol's p'wal dos ph' biu verin Ul'Saruk." (*4) Will offered and yet again Naruto wondered what the cloaked boy had said to him, before deciding that he really didn't care at the moment. Making his way to the cave, Naruto was glad to see that there were no more Hollow-Men and walked inside.

"Why are we going in there? Especially when that idol might summon even more Hollow-Men…" Sam questioned while looking around warily and Naruto reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose while trying not to kill the two morons where they stood. _'These two are seriously testing my patience, if the guys back in Konoha think I'm dumb, they need to meet these two!'_ Naruto mentally declared while looking back at the two morons with a deep frown under his mask.

"We're going to find this idol and then destroy it so no more Hollow-Men will ever be summoned…" Naruto explained flatly and both Sam and Max made an Oh with their mouths while Naruto looked to Will. "How in hells name do you come from the same lands as these two?" Naruto questioned seriously and Will shrugged his shoulders with a shake of his head, then tapped his chin thoughtfully for a moment.

"Xal ol's p'wal nind xuat doer dal ghil... xor mayoe fridj p'wal F'sarn biu Archon nindel F'sarn naut nindol waele." (*5) Will replied and Naruto looked at the brown haired youth with a flat expression before palming his face.

"Just forget I asked… and when we get home, I am so learning Drow so I can understand what the hell it is that you're saying!" Naruto declared angrily and Will noticed that the blond haired youth seemed to have his temper on a hair-trigger for some reason. However he just thought it had something to do with Sam and Max, as well as not being able to understand anything he said, which he found greatly amusing, thus decided that it didn't matter as long as it didn't affect him. Continuing on through the cave, the group soon entered into a large chamber with a small obsidian idol situated on a platform in the center of the room.

"That the idol?" Naruto asked while looking back to Sam and Max who both nodded their heads while looking all around warily. "Kori, head back into the satchel, I don't think I'll need you to break a stupid idol." Naruto ordered and Kori pouted for a moment before doing as told, quickly flying back into the Faerie Satchel as the blond haired Overlord-In-Training removed the Sword of Plun-Darr from his side and twirled it in his hand for a moment.

"Be careful! There's no telling what might come out this time!" Max warned and Naruto nodded his head while approaching the idol with a deep frown on his face. _'Something doesn't feel right…'_ He noted while seeing that the idol vaguely resembled a man in armor, what looked like an old beaded face visible on it. Narrowing his eyes, Naruto then twisted on his heel and easily cleaved the idol in two, the pieces falling off of the platform and rolling to the floor. Taking a step back, Naruto then returned the Sword of Plun-Darr to its place before giving a look to the Two-Morons known as simply Sam and Max.

"There it's…" Naruto started to say before turning around and widening his eyes as a shadowy portal opened up behind him. A yellow eye then opened within the depths of the portal, Will suddenly seizing up with a fearful expression on his face upon seeing them. "What the hell!" Naruto demanded while reaching for The Sword of Plun-Darr only for a tendril of darkness to reach out and grab him. Gritting his teeth, Naruto struggled as more tendrils reached out and grabbed him, then pulled him kicking and struggling into a dark void before the portal sealed up…

"Well… that could've gone better…" Sam noted aloud and Max suddenly slapped the back of his head while Will shivered in fear. _**"And always remember, the debt to be paid!"**_ A familiar sinister voice echoed out in the young Archon's mind as he sunk into his cloak, his eyes darting all around as if looking for the one who had spoken those words… though he was nowhere to be found…

(?)

Naruto felt his fingers twitch as he suddenly came too, his eyes fluttering open as he gradually rose to his feet with one hand clasped to the side of his head. Slowly trudging forward, the blond looked around to find himself in a dark shadowy world, with many broken patches of earth and stone flying all around. _'What is this place?'_ The blond haired youth wondered to himself as he slowed upon approaching the end of the land he could traverse, however his eyes then widened in a mix of shock and awe as the broken patches around him then quickly slithered before him, extending the path slightly. _'That's a first…'_ Naruto inwardly thought to himself before trudging forward once more, his hand going back to his head as he looked around once more.

The shadows around him looked to be alive, twisting and curling in intricate patterns and weaves. The sky above him was filled by the shadows, what looked like grey clouds and dim blue, crimson, and violet lights glowing in the distance. Shaking his head the blond soon fell to his knees as the shadows lunged forward and started to wrap around his entire body. _**"Give up… give in… fall into darkness!"**_ A hideous voice hissed into his mind, only for the blond to growl and throw one hand forward to swipe his claws through the shadows. Instantly the twisting shadows flew away from the blond as he then rose back up to his feet and continued to march forward, soon approaching a circular platform hovering in the darkness.

"_**Walk forward, young-one of royal blood, thou hast been chosen as successor to our good king… but first must pass the challenges of The Void."**_ The same hideous voice echoed out from all around, Naruto looking around for a moment before narrowing his eyes on the platform hovering in the darkness. The platform was made from the purest of ivory, a strange seal array of some kind completely dominating it's surface, four poles rose up from the pillar, creating what he supposed was a pathway as they were equally spaced apart like the path he was currently walking. Looking to the flames, the blond raised a brow in wonder, the emerald colored flames dancing upon the torches enticingly.

Shaking his head, the blond walked forward, onto the strange seal-array and then looked around as it suddenly started to glow a brilliant crimson red. _**"A king's power is worthless without form…"**_ A deep dark voice declared from all around as a new pedestal rose up, showing a man in kingly armor with a sword held in his hands. _**"The sword… might and fury…"**_ The voice echoed out while a second pedestal rose up from the darkness with another kingly statue, this one holding a staff in one hand with robes and jewelry rather than armor. _**"The staff… wisdom and experience…"**_ The voice continued while Naruto then turned as on the opposite side of the pillar another pedestal rose up with another kingly statue, this one holding a bow. _**"The bow… patience and stealth…"**_ The voice continued on while a final pedestal with a kingly statue rose up, this one bearing a crown and sitting in a throne.

"_**The crown… authority and desire…"**_ The voice finished and each of the statues suddenly started to glow brilliantly, one red, one blue, one green, and one violet… _**"It has many forms, it has many names, but… what is the true form of a kings power?"**_ The voice suddenly questioned of the blond haired Overlord-In-Training, who looked around for several moments, looking for something other than the obvious. He started on the statue of the king with the sword and saw a sheath / scabbard at his side. Then moved to the one with the staff, and saw a book in it's lowered hand. Then he looked to the statue with the bow and saw a quiver with arrows in it. And finally, he looked to the seated king and noticed a ring that was on his finger.

"None of those things are where true power comes from…" Naruto stated while walking over to the king with the sword and took his scabbard from him. "The sheath that holds the mightiest of blades must be mightier still to contain it." Naruto stated and the statue of the king with the sword suddenly knelt down, his sword pointing to the ground. Walking to the next statue, Naruto took the book from this statues lowered hand. "The staff may be powerful, but it is knowledge that truly grants power to its wielder, not a weapon." Naruto stated and the robed king suddenly spun his staff around behind his back and knelt down as well.

Walking to the bow-wielding statue, Naruto took the quiver from its shoulder and took a step back. "Without the arrows needed to fire, a bow is worthless, it is only with an arrow filled quiver that a bow gains use." Naruto stated and the bow-wielding statue knelt down like the others, his bow to the ground. Walking over to the seated king, Naruto reached out and touched the ring on its finger, then backed up as it appeared in his hand. "And a crown can be little more than an ornament or a target, the true authority of a king is in his bloodline…" Naruto stated while the seated king rose to his feet, only to kneel down before the blond haired Overlord-In-Training.

Naruto then turned and raised a brow as each of the statues suddenly faded away, new runes now glowing on their pedestals, each one glowing a bright color. However, the green pedestal then faded into blackness while the shadows suddenly twisted around Naruto's form. _**"The first test has been passed… young King… go forth to your next test…"**_ The deep dark voice echoed out as Naruto saw the scarlet colored pedestal glow brightly, along with the blue and violet ones. Slipping the quiver, ring, and scabbard on, Naruto then slipped the book into a pouch, before he looked to the pedestals. Frowning in thought, Naruto walked over to the blue pedestal and stepped onto it, sparks flying over his body as he was transported to a new pedestal.

Blinking for a moment, the blond then walked into a large open area and slowly looked around. He noticed the blue flames he'd seen flickering in the distance earlier were surrounding this new area, and that the green flames of the area he'd just been were now visible in the distance. _'But what is this place?'_ Naruto wondered while looking down and saw that he was on a significantly larger pedestal of marble this time. He also saw a familiar circular seal design on the ground; only this one had a large crystal sphere resting in its center. Frowning for a moment, Naruto walked over to the large crystalline sphere and slowly walked around it.

"_**Magic is all around… magic is life… in order to proceed… you must become one with the magic of The Void…"**_ The same deep dark voice echoed out and Naruto quickly turned and looked for the sinister voice's owner. Frowning in thought at hearing its rather cryptic message, the blond then noticed the swirling mass of energy within the crystal he'd been circling. Reaching back, Naruto took the book from his pouch and opened it up and found many of the pages were blank. Turning to the only page that had writing on it, Naruto narrowed his eyes on the single written passage.

"_In darkness there is no power greater than the light, it leads you through the shadows, and keeps you safe from the creatures that lurk within its depths.]_ The single passage read, Naruto dropping the book as it suddenly caught aflame, and the crystal sphere before him glowed brightly. Walking to the crystal, Naruto looked to his hands for a moment before slowly reaching out and placing them against the crystal. Almost instantly raw power flowed from the crystal, up Naruto's arms, and within his body. Gritting his teeth for a moment, the blond was then flung back by the raw power while numerous shadows started to rise up and form twisted beings.

Widening his eyes for a moment, Naruto then looked to the glowing power in his hands and pressed the magic together before spreading out his arms. His eyes widened upon seeing a spear form from the magic and fall into his hands. _'That's like what I do with Shadow-Magic… only it's easier somehow?'_ Naruto inwardly questioned before shaking his head and throwing the spear at one of the shadowy wraiths that were approaching him. The spear suddenly exploded into a mass of swirling fire upon hitting the wraith, Naruto eye's widening in shock as it enveloped all of the wraiths in a swirling column of flames…

'_That was totally awesome…'_ He thought before shaking his head as more of the wraiths rose up, only now they were surrounding him. _'Lets try something a little different this time…'_ Naruto thought to himself while molding the magic into his hands and then raising his hands up before bringing them down, a torrent of red/black flames flowing around the blond haired youth and instantaneously ate away at the creatures that were surrounding him. However as soon as that mass were gone, three times that amount started to rise up, Naruto widening his eyes while trying to think of what he could do to take out the enormous amount of creatures.

Thinking quickly, Naruto remembered that the voice told him to become one with the magic of The Void, thus looked to the crystal with determination. _'I just know that this is __**really**__ going to hurt!'_ The blond haired youth mentally declared before pushing the magic down into the ground with his feet, and sprinted to the crystal sphere with unreal speed before jumping onto it and crying out in pain. Gritting his teeth as raw magical power surged from the crystal and into his body, Naruto then opened his eyes; a pair of obsidian slits suddenly forming in the center of his eyes, which were almost invisible save for if seen up close.

Growling low in his throat the blond then let out a roar as a wave of power flew from his body and ripped the wraiths around him into pieces. Gasping for breath the blond slowly rose up, his body now surrounded by a hellish red / black glow that swirled and twisted over his body. Grunting in pain, Naruto made his way off of the sphere, which shattered soon after, Naruto placing his hands to his head as his normally blue eyes turned a bright hellish red color. Growling low in his throat, the blond lifted a single foot before stomping down, a ring of fire flowing out from his body and burning the surface of the pillar he stood upon.

The sphere then faded away completely, Naruto letting out low breathing sounds as the seal upon the surface of the pillar started to glow a bright azure blue color. _**"The second trial has been completed… yet still two more remain…"**_ The deep dark voice uttered while Naruto was consumed in a spiral of sparks and found himself back on the first pillar, only now the blue pedestal's color was fading out like the green one had earlier. Taking several deep breaths of air, Naruto then pushed himself back to his feet and held his face in his hands, his glowing red eyes shining ominously in the shadows created by his hood. Taking several deep breaths, Naruto then made his way to the next pedestal, the one with the crimson red seal glowing upon it.

Trudging forward, the blond stepped onto the pedestal and felt his body become extremely light as he was transported once again to a new pillar. This one was three times larger than the first, vast like an arena with a book sat in the center of it. Making his way forward the blond haired Overlord-In-Training stopped at the book and reached up to his head as the power he'd absorbed in the second challenge caused his body to ache. Shaking his head, the blond haired youth then opened the book and looked down to see what looked like glowing letters or even runes of some kind. _'My head…'_ The blond thought with a pained grimace as he leaned forward, his head planting against the book.

Shaking his head, the blond then pushed himself up and raised a hand to the book, blinking when he saw the symbols shift. _'Is… that how?'_ He wondered to himself before moving both hands over the surface of the book, causing the symbols to shift and change before forming into words he could understand. _[Time is ever moving, yet to pass forward, time must first slow…]_ The single sentence read and Naruto blinked as the book caught aflame and the pedestal it was on seemed to lower into the ground, a familiar seal forming atop the pillar. Instantly, eight pillars rose up around the blond haired Overlord in training, each one topped with a target.

'_Those must be for the arrows…'_ Naruto mentally decided while looking to the eight targets, and then reached back for the arrows. _'Wish I had a bow…'_ He thought before blinking as he remembered his previous test. Looking at the arrow with a frown, Naruto formed some magic over it, and then pulled on the magic over the arrow to form a spear instead… _'That works…'_ Naruto decided, as he was horrible with a bow, Sylvanas having given up on teaching him how to use one a long time ago. Looking back to the targets, Naruto clicked his tongue before taking a step back and then threw the spear through the air, where it soon slammed into the target, knocking it back. Nodding his head, Naruto quickly reached for the next Arrow and formed a spear over it then moved to hit the next target as well.

Letting his next spear fly, Naruto saw the next target fall, only for the first one to rise back up as if it were on some kind of a timer. _'Wait… what?'_ Naruto wondered to himself before frowning as he thought about what the book from earlier had told him. _'Time needs to slow?'_ He wondered to himself before taking a deep breath and holding his hands forward. _'Well I guess that I need to use magic, but spells are half will so lets see if I can 'will' time to slow…'_ Naruto inwardly decided while magic formed into the palms of his hands and he brought them together in a clap, a surge of magic flowing outward as the entire area turned a dull black and grey hue to his eyes.

Looking around, Naruto quickly reached back and formed a spear out of one of the arrows before then hurling it towards one of the targets. The spear slowed in place and Naruto quickly did the same, repeating the process seven times before finally time started back up and all eight spears went flying. Each one connected with its intended target less than a second after the last, and soon all eight were knocked over. As soon as that was done, Naruto had to brace himself as he felt something shake the pillar he was standing up. Soon enough, Naruto turned and watched as a large road of some kind rose out of the darkness, leading to what looked like a castle in the distance…

"Whoa." Naruto whispered out in shock before shaking his head and approaching the path, stopping as he saw a large being knelt down at either side of it. Each of the beings wore obsidian-spiked armor with a noticeable dragonic design with black chain-male and red cloths forming loincloths and shrouds, they wore odd helmets that had a dragon shaped design with a black and silver marked masks partially hidden behind both their helmets and the crimson shrouds around their necks / faces. _'Why do I have the feeling these guys aren't exactly friendly?'_ Naruto wondered to himself as he approached the two, and then watched as they formed a pair of spears and locked them into an X in front of the path.

"_**We are Rook of Blades, servants to The Court… who are thee who approach our Lord's castle?"**_ One of the beings uttered while lifting its head to show a pair of burning crimson red eyes behind the eyeholes of it's mask. Looking at either "Rook of Blades" and wondering if they shared that name, Naruto then cleared his throat and walked forward.

"I am Naruto, I am known in my lands as an Overlord and was tasked to complete some challenges… though I honestly don't know by who." Naruto replied and both Rooks seemed to contemplate the answer for a moment, before they looked up and their spears were moved out of the way and held at their sides.

"_**Walk with the shadows, Successor to the King."**_ One of the Rooks stated and Naruto raised a brow before humming lightly as he walked passed both Rook of Blades and towards the castle floating in the distance. Soon enough the blond haired youth reached the castle and saw that a drawbridge was raised up, denying him access to the castle interior. Frowning for a moment, Naruto looked around before spotting a strange looking device at the side of the drawbridge. _'Something tells me that's either a switch or a locking mechanism.'_ Naruto decided and reached back for one of the few remaining arrows and formed a spear out of it as well.

Closing one eye, Naruto focused on his target, which was a fair distance away, and then hurled the spear towards the target. The spear sailed through the air before impacting with its intended target, the device giving out a loud breaking sound as the drawbridge suddenly lowered. His cloak fluttering in the gust of air created by the lowering drawbridge, Naruto then walked forward, into the ancient castle while silently looking all around. Soon enough, the blond stopped and tilted his head to one side at seeing a series of crazy looking stairs that went up, sideways, upside down, curved at odd angles, and didn't seem possible to even exist…

'_This place is totally insane…'_ Naruto decided while walking to the stairs and walking up the first flight, entered into a door, and came out of it somehow walking sideways. Looking up, and then palming his face, Naruto then ran down the flight of stairs into a different doorway, coming out going diagonally from one of the lower levels. _'How the hell…?'_ Naruto wondered to himself with wide eyes as he tried to figure out how in the name of hell he wasn't falling from the stairs. The blond then gave up that trivial endeavor and quickly made his way up the stairs and into another doorway, only to come out running back out of the first doorway and set of stairs he'd entered.

"Wait… I just went in a fucking circle!" Naruto demanded and heard an amused Chuckle from above him, looking up, Naruto raised a brow upon seeing a strange figure garbed in red and white Jester styled clothing with light black armor overtop it was waving at him, several tassels coming off of his hooded head and ending with miniature silver skulls. He was also wearing a grinning black mask with silver trim and a sapphire looking down at him with crimson red eyes.

"_**Looks like you be have'n a wee spot a trouble with the crazy stairs eh?"**_ He questioned with a snicker while hanging upside down on one of the upper and upside-down sets of stairs around the blond haired youth.

"Who…" Naruto started to question and the Jester flipped off of the stairs, into a barrel roll and landed behind the blond haired youth. Moving quickly he then twisted into a kick, knocking Naruto onto his back while forming a pair of daggers into his hands and held one down to the blond's throat, all in a single fluid motion… _'Shit… why is the clown so tough?'_ Naruto wondered while looking up towards the strange Jester and he tilted his head to one side while his masked grinned down at him.

"_**Quite the predicament 'ere, I dare say you're not exactly in the best a situations what wit me dagger at your throat an all."**_ The Jester noted in a thickly accented voice and Naruto frowned while giving the strange Jester an annoyed look.

"You really talk too much…" Naruto stated and the Jester leaned to his side slightly, pressing his dagger into the blond's throat.

"_**Now lad, even I know you don't say things like tha' ta people wit a dagger at your throat, tends to be bad for ye health."**_ The Jester noted and Naruto smirked while getting up, the dagger not even scratching his scales while the Jester blinked then looked at his dagger… _**"Well bloody 'ell… that's not even fair! Have'n Dragon scales! Really bad sport there lad! Bad Sport!"**_ The Jester declared in a whining tone before Naruto grabbed him in a Headlock and then glared down at him as he chuckled nervously.

"Something tells me you're the weakest thing in this entire place…" Naruto stated rather flatly only for the Jester to reach a hand up and shake his hand since his head was rather preoccupied at the moment.

"_**Nah, I jus' like to 'ave a bit a fun every now and again when I can, don't get too many visitors 'ere after all."**_ The Jester admitted with a shrug of his shoulders and then twisted out of Naruto's arms and danced a few steps before dropping into a rather grand bow across from the youth. _**"Now then, who might I be speaking too presently?"**_ The Jester questioned while looking up and Naruto crossed his arms over his chest with a frown under his mask.

"My name is Naruto, I'm an Overlord where I'm from, and I've apparently been shanghaied into some crazy quest or another." Naruto replied with a slight frown and saw the Jester tilt his head for a moment before he lunged forward and stared intently into the blond haired youth's eyes. Mere seconds afterwards the Jester started to clap his hands and happily giggle to himself, Naruto twitching as he did.

"_**Ohhh goody goody goody goody!"**_ The Jester declared and then brought his hands together in clear melodramatic jest. _**"Finally some new blood around 'ere! It's been ages since ol' Willy came and visited, almost as long as since Knight, Jack, and Queen left!"**_ The Jester started before zipping too and fro while taking more melodramatic and rather comical poses as he did so. _**"I mean it were fine for the first century or so, but then it gets so bloody boring around 'ere that you just want to stab ye'self! Pointless as most of us are pretty much immortal, but ye probably get the general idea of the…"**_ The Jester started to rant before Naruto grabbed one of his tassels and gave him an angry glare, a scowl across his face left unseen by the strange man.

"Would you please get to the fucking point!" Naruto demanded loudly and the Jester seemed to blink before nodding his head, Naruto releasing his tassel and staring at him with a deep frown.

"_**Right then, sorry, I can get pretty carried away at times and ramble on quite a bit actually. Name's Joker of Blades, the Court Jester, and I'm at ye' service milord."**_ Joker declared with a grand overdramatic bow while Naruto briefly wondered if this guy was somehow related to Sam and Max. _**"Anyways, straight to the point, you're taking the Challenges of Blades, normally only given ta shadow beings ta find new members of The Court."**_ Joker explained and Naruto frowned for a moment and rubbed his chin, thankful that Joker at least had a little helpful information to go with his obvious insanity.

"But I'm not a Shadow Being, I'm an Overlord and Abyss DragonKin…" Naruto noted and Joker nodded his head and flipped over into a cartwheel before landing on the steps and sitting down with one fist raised up to his chin.

"_**Aye, that ye are milord. However Abyss Dragons control Void Magic, and we are in The Void itself at the moment! Home of The Court, where the King of Blades is… well, King! And ye are taking the challenge of Blades, or something like that, which I assume our good king is using to test ye worth."**_ Joker replied and Naruto blinked before slowly nodding his head in understanding. _**"And since no other bloke 'as ever gotten this far, I assume you're doin' pretty well for ye'self. Bravo lad! Bravo indeed!"**_ Joker added while clapping his hands and then lying back on the stairs with his arms crossed behind his head and Naruto rolled his eyes.

"So then I'm being tested by this "King of Blades", but why?" Naruto asked and Joker shrugged his shoulders before rolling back and flipping into a standing position.

"_**Now that, isn't a very good question, or one I'm able ta answer for you. What I can say, and answer had ye asked, is 'ow to get to the next stage. Just keep ye eyes open lad…"**_ Joker stated before flipping into a jump, bowed at the waist in midair, and then fell with a laugh loudly into the darkness below the many stairs Naruto had tried to climb earlier…

"I really hate clowns…" Naruto decided while letting out a breath and walking to the stairs, then frowned as he looked at them. "I don't see anything…" He grumbled while walking up the steps and then slowed while looking around, fully stopping as he saw a strange trigger on the wall to the side. "Aha!" Naruto stated while pulling an arrow from his Quiver and then formed a Spear out of it and narrowed his eyes on the Target. Hurling the spear at the target, Naruto watched it sail through the air before impacting with the target and causing the stairs he was on to shift to the side. Looking around and not seeing another target, Naruto walked through the Doorway at the end.

Coming out on a nearby set of stairs Naruto then looked around and spotted another Target, where he then hit it with a spear as well. The stairs yet again shifted to the side and Naruto walked up those stairs and through yet another doorway and rather than come out on more stairs, actually walked into a large library. Looking around for a moment, Naruto noted a pair of armored beings at his sides like the Rooks, only dressed in red-robes and wearing black leather armor in a similar fashion to Jester, their masks being black with silver forming expressionless faces, each one holding what looked vaguely like a staff with the tip pointed to the ground.

"_**Those are the Bishops of Blades."**_ A calm old voice noted aloud and Naruto turned to see a figure of a red-robed mage he assumed, dressed in more black armor with strange glowing red runes carved in it, an old medallion hanging from his neck, a black hat was pointed with a wide brow and shadowed his mask. His own mask bore the design of an old man and reached low on his body like a beard, an amethyst at his brow, while his calm yellow eyes gazed out from his mask.

"Then who are you?" Naruto questioned and the old man like armored being reached out and grasped a book, looking it over for a moment before his eyes shut in what Naruto assumed was a smile.

"_**I am Ace of Blades, Court Magician."**_ The old man replied while Naruto walked towards him with a hum and he waved a hand to an empty seat. _**"Please, rest a bit, I'm sure you're quite tired by now."**_ Ace stated and Naruto looked to the seat for a moment before pulling out the chair and sat down with a frown. _**"I see you've met Joker already."**_ Ace noted calmly while idly flipping through the pages of a book he had already read almost innumerous times.

"How can you tell?" Naruto asked Ace as he idly lowered his book and chuckled lightly in his throat.

"_**Most people find him rather eccentric and annoying, so it wasn't too hard to figure out."**_ The armored being replied and then closed the book and folded his hands over it. _**"So, you're taking the challenge, a test of Will, of Skill, and of Strength. At the moment, you need to rind the last target; it is somewhere here in the library. Yet it is closer than you'd think…"**_ Ace explained with a wave of his hand and Naruto looked around himself for a moment, before looking straight up and frowned as he couldn't see the Target anywhere near him.

"_**Ah, but wait, a little gift my young friend."**_ Ace then stated and Naruto looked to him with a raised brow, before gasping as shadows rose up and wrapped around him. The Shadows then seemed to slither up and into his eyes, Naruto growling as he grasped his face. Gritting his teeth in pain, Naruto soon opened them, and at the close distance, Ace could now see a slit pupil and black sclera had formed.

"**What was that?"** Naruto questioned in a growling voice as his normally blue iris suddenly turned a bright crimson red. The Ace of Blades was silently however, and Naruto grunted while pinching the bridge of his nose, and then started to look for the last target once again. However he then had a thought and scooted his seat back and saw the target was under the table.

"_**Hmm… not bad. I suppose you should be allowed to pass forward for that if nothing else."**_ Ace mused while snapping his armored fingers and the table was lifted up into the air, Naruto forming a spear with one of his few remaining arrows. Taking several steps back, Naruto then closed an eye and aimed the weapon at the target before hurling it at the floor. The spear crashed into the target and a nearby bookcase raised up to reveal a hidden chamber with a pedestal. However as that happened, Naruto then had to throw the quiver and few remaining arrows from his back to the ground as they suddenly caught aflame and Ace motioned to the hidden Chamber.

"_**Tread carefully, young one, many dangers await you on the road ahead… but perhaps, sometime soon, we shall stand together."**_ Ace mused to himself while Naruto raised a brow for a moment, and then walked over to the pedestal. Upon it was a familiar seal which gave off a fierce crimson glow as Naruto walked onto it and then vanished into a swirl of sparks. The blond then arrived back on the first platform, as the pedestal he'd used lost its crimson hued glow. That left only the violet pedestal left, Naruto narrowing his eyes onto it before confidently walking forward. _'One test to go…'_ He thought to himself while stepping forward and onto the pedestal, a swirl of sparks and a violet glow surrounding him before he was transported to yet another marble pillar in the vastness of the strange realm he found himself in.

"_**The final test awaits young king, the final trial…"**_ The familiar deep dark voice suddenly echoed out as the surface of the pillar was now covered in a familiar black seal. However several more pillars then started to rise up from the first, making a trail of large platforms leading to a distant pillar. _**"One cannot always see the correct path, one must only make the choice they feel is right … step forward and take charge of your path…"**_ The voice echoed as two more paths rose up separate from the first one, each one leading to the same distant platform / pillar. Frowning to himself, Naruto looked to the scabbard he still at his side and then to the three different paths before spotting a light shining on something on the one to his right.

'_Well, might as well check it out…'_ The blond haired youth decided while lunging at the path and jumped over to the first pillar. Running and jumping across the platforms Naruto soon came to a stop on the one with the light and saw a jewel-encrusted sword was dug into an ivory stone. Raising a brow, Naruto walked forward and approached the weapon before grasping its hilt with both hands and kneeling down. The sword had writing upon its blade, "Caliburn" it said and made Naruto rub his chin in thought before shaking his head with a frown. Standing back up, Naruto took a breath before tugging on the sword and gritting his teeth, as it held firm.

Exhaling and releasing the hilt of the blade, Naruto tapped his chin with one finger while gazing at the strange sword. Kneeling back down he looked at the stone to make sure there was nothing else holding it down before humming lightly. Looking to the scabbard at his side, Naruto then looked back to Caliburn and nodded his head. It was quite clearly the right size and shape for the sheath, but the blond haired youth wondered why it wouldn't come loose from the stone. Clicking his tongue for a moment, Naruto crossed his arms and considered his options before blinking as a sudden thought came to mind and he bowed his head while placing a single hand to the blades hilt.

"**I implore you great Caliburn, to allow me to wield you in my time of need."** Naruto whispered softly and a glow enveloped the blade while Naruto stood up and then slowly tugged on the blade. Slowly but surely the sword known as Caliburn started to come loose, and soon enough Naruto was raising the blade high into the air with both hands. Lowering the blade, Naruto grunted at the sheer weight of the blade before sheathing it into the scabbard at his side, blinking, as it seemed to grow even heavier than it had been only a moment before. Grunting in his throat, Naruto made his way forward while focusing on getting to the end of the path.

Hopping across the few platforms he could Naruto soon came to a rather large gap between the platform he was on and the final pillar he needed to be. Taking several steps back, Naruto then looked down at Caliburn and mentally hoped he was right in picking the sword up at all. Taking in and exhaling a breath, Naruto then lunged forward and jumped towards the pillar, only to curse as he came up short and fell into the shadowy darkness of The Void. Mentally cursing as he fell, Naruto tried to think up a way to save himself when he noticed Caliburn give off a fierce glow. Reaching down to the blade, Naruto partly unsheathed it and gasped as power flowed into him.

Gritting his teeth as a crimson / ebony haze surrounded his body, Naruto felt his shoulder blades scream out in pain before literally roaring out as a pair of silver-white scaled wings extended from his back. The wings caught a breeze within the voice and Naruto's descent slowed, allowing him to sheath Caliburn and then look around. _'I… I have fucking wings?'_ Naruto mentally demanded while gazing at the pair of enormous dragonic wings with a single claw at their apex with wide eyes. Shaking his head of that and quickly looking up towards the pillar he needed to be, Naruto then flapped his wings and flew upwards. Using his newfound wings to sore around the pillar, Naruto soon rose over it and folded his wings within his cloak.

The claws of his wings clasped themselves over his collar under his cloak, the two new appendages nearly blending in with the blond haired youth's cloak as he stumbled for a moment before putting a hand to his head. Looking to the center of this pillar, Naruto saw a pool of water and tilted his head to one side before walking forward. _**"The truest test of a king is not one who knows if he will kill, but one who knows when to lay down his arms…"**_ The deep ominous voice from before echoed out and Naruto frowned for a moment before taking a step back as a shadowy reflection rose out of the pool, dressed and armed like he was, the reflection reached to his side and unsheathed Caliburn while Naruto did the same.

'_A doppelganger, it just had to be a doppelganger…'_ Naruto thought to himself with a frown while the Shadow lunged forward and swung Caliburn at him. Sidestepping the shadows swing, Naruto swung his own Caliburn up at the shadow, only for it to flip back and land in a crouch. _'Ah crap, it's sword must not be as heavy as my own… that totally sucks!'_ Naruto thought to himself with a scowl working its way across his face as the shadow came swinging at him once more. Dodging and weaving around the attacks from the shadow, Naruto then mentally stopped and remembered the words that the voice had uttered.

'_One who knows when to lay down his arms… this thing is a Doppelganger, so it has everything I have, including Caliburn!'_ Naruto realized while ducking a swing and sheathed Caliburn into the scabbard at his side. Quickly removing the scabbard and the sword from his person while tuck and rolling out of the way of another swing from the Doppelganger, Naruto then tossed them towards the center of the pool of water. Looking back Naruto saw the Doppelganger swinging its blade down at him, however the blade did not cut him. Rather it passed through the blond just as the Doppelganger did as well, Naruto breathing a sigh of relief before looking back to the pool.

However, Naruto then widened his eyes as a feminine hand reached out of the water and grasped the still sheathed blade in hand. The arm then lowered back down into the water, which gave a sudden glow, before a mass of shadows started to rise from it and then twisted and turned around Naruto's body. Looking down, Naruto fell to his knees as the shadows wrapped over his form, and then seemed to explode outwards, his wings stretching back out while he now glowed with an evil looking crimson and ebony haze surrounding his entire body, crimson markings glowing upon his silver-white scales.

Shaking his head, Naruto turned on his heel and saw the seal on the first pillar on which he arrived was now glowing brightly. Looking to his wings for a moment, Naruto took a few steps back before lunging forward and gliding towards the pillar. The trip was without incident, and as he approached, Naruto brought his wings inward and folded them within his cloak yet again. Landing in a crouch, Naruto was transported by the seal on the pillar and back to the first pillar he'd found, the violet pedestal quickly loosing its glow like all the others had before it. **"Now what?"** Naruto wondered to himself before watching as the seal on the pillar he was standing on was now glowing a burning amber orange color.

"_**All tests have been passed, all trials have been completed… now step forward, and meet he who is unending, he who has ruled this realm for eons, he who is the bane of mortal and god alike… he who time has forgotten to both myth and legend…"**_ The familiar dark voice echoed out as Naruto vanished in a swirl of sparks and an amber-orange glow. Blinking his eyes open seconds later, Naruto pushed himself back up off of the ground and found himself inside of a strange, almost temple like area. Around him the walls depicted three beings wearing masks, one a female, two males, and each of them reigning death down upon what looked vaguely like a simple world. However he then stopped upon seeing a fourth being, hidden from the rest, sitting within a throne and garbed in heavy looking armor…

"**So at last, you arrive…"** A voice echoed and Naruto stiffened before turning around, a pair of large double doors opening with a creak. Taking a deep breath, Naruto then walked forward, soon passing the doors, which closed behind him. Walking across a short bridge, Naruto then opened a final door and entered into a strange place that he could scarcely describe. It reminded him of a large hallway, only with pillars to either side with torches of black flames, a long violet carpet upon the ground leading to a pool of water surrounding a figure in a throne, sitting back with his head lolled to one side. Looking up, Naruto noticed a strange stained-glass depiction of the three masks he'd seen in the prior room formed into a circle, yet again the fourth being unseen with them…

"**It's such a terrible thing… being forgotten… becoming little more than a worthless relic of the past…"** The familiar deep ominous voice echoed out from the end of the room, a shiver slithering down Naruto's spine as it did. **"Come forward… speak with me… young king."** The being beckoned and Naruto slowly made his way forward, looking to either side to see armor was stationed between each of the pillars with torches, a weapon at the ready though each of them was also quite clearly empty. _'Not like that ever stopped anything from moving around before.'_ Naruto mentally decided as he soon slowed his approach and widened his eyes upon seeing the being before him.

"**So at last… I am seen once more by mortal eyes… a King without a kingdom… a ruler with no one left to rule…"** The man stated before opening a pair of disturbing glowing yellow eyes that had a red sclera and obsidian black pupil. His body was incased in black spiky armor with a dragonic design to it, a crimson cloak thrown over his shoulders and hanging in ragged tatters, some red cloth thrown around his waist like a loincloth with a familiar looking sword sheathed at his side, his head clasped in a crowned helmet of some kind with a faceplate covering all but his glowing red eyes…

However something about the man's eyes was further disturbing to Naruto, a strangely evil quality that he just couldn't place while looking upon him. **"Who… what are you?"** Naruto questioned, completely ignoring the slight change his voice had taken as the masked being gazed out at him impassively.

"**Surely you know the tales of The Court… Knight… Jack… Queen… my three fellows. We who were born in and ruled over The Void."** The man replied vaguely and then closed his eyes while leaning back in his seat heavily. **"We who once sought to rule Albion… we who brought them ruin and madness… we who were defeated, by your ancestor, William Black."** The man's deep ominous voice echoed out while Naruto felt a shiver run the length of his spine before shaking his head and glaring at the strange armored man.

"**I have no idea of such things. I came from the lands of The Overlord, my ancestor, was Lord Gromgard, the youngest of the Brothers Black, not William…"** Naruto stated and yet the armored being seemed to tilt his head for a moment before lifting a hand and leaning his armored cheek into his fist.

"**You are mistaken, for you are descended from both… both the blood of an Overlord **_**AND**_** an Archon flow through your veins."** The armored man's voice echoed out darkly, Naruto blinking in a mix of shock and surprise while he then seemed to lean heavily into his seat. **"But more than that… you two carry our blood, for you are of The Void."** The man noted mostly to himself, his amber colored eyes slowly sliding shut beyond his mask while Naruto scowled with a twitch. **"What's more, you carry the emblem of one fit to rule, quite a surprise… none have chosen it before."** The being noted while gazing at the ring that Naruto was wearing on his ring finger rather intently.

"**Enough! Tell me, who the hell you are already?"** Naruto demanded and the beings eyes snapped open before flames seemed to form in the very air around him.

"**Do not make demands of me, child… it will only bring your death."** The man grumbled out before closing his eyes and humming lightly, the flames around his body suddenly dying out. **"But… you have asked for my name… so I shall tell it to you. I am King of this realm… and I am known by many names across your tiny little world… but in Albion I am known as simply, King of Blades."** The man uttered sinisterly and Naruto shivered at the word _**KING**_, the words "Of Blades" only making the feeling in his stomach that much worse.

"**You, you're the one who put me through all of these challenges. Why? What… what do you want from me?"** Naruto questioned of King warily and the armored king seemed to blink slowly, his eyes carrying a look of extreme fatigue, as if he were tired in some way…

"**What I want? I want a great many things… or rather… I once did."** King replied before lifting a hand to palm his face and lean his head back in his throne. **"I was betrayed by my kin, my Queen, my Knight, and Jack. Since that time, I have been trapped in this forsaken place… unable to rest… unable to find peace."** King explained tiredly, his deep ominous voice carrying the weight of the betrayal he suffered with it. Looking at King silently for a moment, Naruto then crossed his arms and walked towards him, stopping at the base of the steps leading to his throne.

"**Then why am I here?"** Naruto questioned and King opened his eyes once more and gazed at the young Overlord silently.

"**I once brought your ancestor William to The Void. I sent him a book that let him battle Queen, Knight, and Jack to the death, but his body… it was just too frail. He could not exist in The Void, and so was poisoned by its power. I banished the betrayers from our home, made them mortal… but still I tire."** King started to explain before inhaling and exhaling a deep breath of air through his nose. **"But you, unlike William Black, you too, are of The Void, young Overlord. You can contain and use these powers without fear of death…"** King continued to explain while then reaching his arms forward and lifting himself from his throne. His armor creaked and groaned like a crabs shell as he slowly trudged forward before stopping before Naruto, his body seemingly bent and frail…

"**However… I shall not allow the unworthy to take my place… as such, to truly prove your worth to me, you must first fight me!"** The King of Blades declared before reaching to his side and unsheathing his sword, which seemed to glow with an unnatural power as he then held his blade up and closed his eyes. **"Will you accept this final challenge, young Overlord?"** The King of Blades questioned while swinging his sword to the side and opening his eyes, Naruto reaching to his side to free the Blade of Plun-Darr, a pair of familiar machete like blades unfolding from it and sparking with lightning as he did.

"**Do I have any other choice?"** Naruto retorted while twirling the blade in his hands and then crouched back, King grasping the handle of his own sword as well.

"**Excellent… then charge forth young warrior, and let us battle for the title of King!"** King declared before crouching down slightly and lunging at the blond haired youth with surprising speed. Seeing the King coming, Naruto blocked with The Sword of Plun-Darr and widened his eyes as King's sword forced him back several paces. _**'Unholy shit for such an old man he's fucking strong!'**_ Naruto thought before King then placed a foot forward and then launched himself forward. Running forward he swung his blade at Naruto, only for the youth to roll under the strike and then catch himself with one foot and launch at King's back.

Stabbing into him with The Sword of Plun-Darr, Naruto then widened his eyes as King merely scoffed and slammed a hand into the end of the sword jutting out of his chest, sending Naruto flying back. Crying out, Naruto impacted with the ground and rolled away before managing to dig his claws into the stone floor and pick himself up as King turned to him and placed his hand onto his sword. **"You have tasted the power of Caliburn… now, taste the might of Excalibur instead!"** King roared out while sliding his hand along the length of the blade of his sword, causing several glowing red runes to form along its length.

'_**Oh shit…'**_Naruto thought to himself just as King swung his sword-baring arm in an upward arc, an arc of red Mana extending from it and slicing its way towards the young blond. Rolling out of the way Naruto then looked back to King who let out a roar as an aura of red started to form over his body and he lunged forward with unreal speed, appearing behind the wide-eyed blond.

"**You need to be faster!"** King growled out while swinging his blade at Naruto who caught it over his head with the Sword of Plun-Darr and grit his teeth. The sheer strength of King seemed to have increased three fold, Naruto widening his eyes as the man then kicked him away. **"You need to be stronger!"** King declared while forming a sphere of Darkness into his free hand, Naruto rolling onto his stomach and then looking to the old king with wide eyes. Grunting with effort, King sent a blast of darkness towards Naruto, then blond forming a shell of shadows around himself to block the attack, which then exploded into a searing blaze. Cursing, Naruto jumped up and out of the flames and King lifted a foot before stomping on the ground.

"**You need to be more powerful!"** King declared while the ground quaked and suddenly broke apart into dozens of jutting spikes. Landing against one of the spikes, Naruto lunged towards King, jumping from spike to spike, only for him to appear in the air over him. Gripping the hilt of Excalibur King then brought it down in a Helm-Breaker move, Naruto quickly jumping out of the way as he sliced clean through one of the many spiked pillars with a single move. Grunting while lifting his sword with one hand, King then turned his head to narrow his eyes on Naruto. Launching himself from his spot King sliced his way through each of the pillars in his path, Naruto jumping and flipping back to evade the strikes and swings.

'_**If this is him old, what the hell was this guy like when he was young?**_' Naruto mentally demanded before King grabbed him by his leg and threw him to the side where he impacted with a spike with a grunt. Looking up Naruto moved his head to the side, eyes wide as Excalibur's blade missed impaling him by less than a hairs breadth, King's glowing red eyes glaring into the blond haired boy's as he suddenly gripped the front of his cloak. **"You need… to Win!"** King snarled at the blond who took several breaths before kicking the old man away and rolling back into a crouch. King however was standing on a rising pillar of earth, Excalibur in hand as he glared at the young Overlord, Naruto growling low in his throat as a fiery red aura formed around his body.

'_**Need to be faster… need to be stronger… need to be more powerful… need to WIN!'**_ Naruto thought with a mental growl as he roared and swung The Sword of Plun-Darr at King, an arc of lightning flying towards the armored warrior. Seeing it coming, King merely jumped into the air to evade it and swung his blade, sending another arc of crimson red energy towards the blond haired youth. Seeing it coming, Naruto lunged to the side and then launched himself at King blurring into motion and appearing behind the old warrior. Seeing the blond coming King twisted into a block with Excalibur the power of both weapons throwing them back to where they impacted with separate spiked pillars.

Climbing out of the hole formed from his impact, Naruto growled lowly and started to twirl the Sword-of-Plun-Darr in his hand. Soon the blade was literally spinning in his hand as he reeled his arm back and threw the sword like a disk. The blade sliced and carved its way threw all in its path, King seeing it coming and flipping over the blade. Turning in the air, King evaded the Sword a second time, only to hiss in pain as it tore its way through his side. Landing in a crouch, King then fell to one knee before turning; Naruto running towards him jumped up and caught the Sword-of-Plun-Darr in one hand before swinging it down at him in a helm breaker. However King then swung Excalibur up, the blades slamming together before flying from their grips.

The two powerful swords flew back in a spin before suddenly imbedding themselves in the walls behind the two warriors. Naruto took several deep breaths while glaring at King, the old armored warrior doing the same, both of them face to face. However Naruto then flipped back while King pushed himself into a slide. Both then formed a spear out of their magic and hurled it at one another, the spears impacting with their opponents and causing them to explode. King raised an arm to block some debris that came flying at him, only to widen his eyes as Naruto lunged out of the smoke and slammed a fist into the side of his face.

King stumbled back from the blow while Naruto landed in a low crouch and then lunged at him again. However King then caught the blond by his face with narrowed eyes, only for Naruto to twist upwards into a vicious kick to his chin. King grunted, releasing Naruto and stumbling back once more while the blond landed in a low crouch and then pushed himself up with his arms and kicked back with both legs to send the armored warrior flying back. King's armored boots scraped the ground as he slid back before suddenly impacting with a spiked pillar, his eyes briefly closed before looking forward to see Naruto on all fours and growling angrily.

"**Yes… feel the fury… channel the rage!"** King declared while stepping forward and reaching to his side to grasp Excalibur's hilt. Lunging forward with a cry, King approached Naruto as he raised his arms and then lowered them with a roar, a torrent of fire spiraling out from the blond and hitting everything around him…

Naruto opened his eyes and fell to one knee as soon as he had, then looked around for King, only to quickly jump back as the armored warrior nearly came down on top of him. Looking at King, Naruto was surprised that he was even still moving, his cape had been half burned away and some of his armor looked like it was partially melted away as well. **"Yes, yes… that's the way!"** King declared with a quick nod of his head before lunging at Naruto and swinging his blade at the youth. Flipping over the attack, Naruto brought his knee to King's chin, the metal of his face-guard breaking open and revealing his mask. Looking back, Naruto saw a black mask with Silver outlining a mans bearded face with a calm expression, red formed at places to resemble bloody tears and streaks…

"**You… have come far… in so short a time…"** King declared while falling to one knee and digging Excalibur into the ground as he did. Taking several deep breaths of air, King then started to laugh to himself before pushing himself up to his feet and gripping the hilt of Excalibur with both hands. **"Do you feel it lad? That's the thrill of facing a truly worthy opponent? I've not felt like this in centuries! So come for me once more, lad… make me feel alive again!"** King exclaimed with his arms raised while lunging at the blond and swinging Excalibur with renewed vigor, Naruto dodging the attack and quickly jumping over to pull The Sword of Plun-Darr free.

Turning and seeing King coming right at him, Naruto jumped up over his attack and swung his blade at King, the armored warrior blocking with his left forearm even as the blade dig through his armor. Eyes wild with passion, King hurled Naruto away with a single swing of his arm, the blond landing against one of the many uneven rocks around the room. Twirling his blade slightly, Naruto eyed King as he panted slightly and then let out a laugh as he then launched himself at the blond haired Overlord. Narrowing his eyes on the armored warrior, Naruto then willed time to slow and watched King seem to move at a more normal speed. Launching himself from his perch, Naruto appeared above King who swung to block the youth's attack.

However Naruto evaded his sword and dug his sword straight threw King's chest where his heart would be. Time returned to normal almost as soon as he did, King and Naruto falling to the ground where the armored warrior impacted back first, his arms falling outwards, Excalibur still held in his grip. As he lay on the ground, his wounds bleeding King heard an old song echo out in his mind, a small smile crossing his lips. A woman's song continued to echo out as he released his hold on Excalibur. He continued to hear the song even while slowly lifting his hand, Naruto looking at him warily. The song continued on still in King's mind, with Naruto watching as King reached passed him for something unseen. King smiled softly as the song echoed into the depths of his mind, his arm falling to the ground with a clatter of steel.

King continued to hear as his eyes grew heavy, and he managed to look up towards Naruto, his once burning red eyes turning a bright azure blue as he did. Seeing this, Naruto pulled the Sword of Plun-Darr from his chest and held it at his side, King's eyes closing as he did. **"You… have done well… young Overlord…"** King whispered quietly while opening his eyes and looking to the blond haired youth once more, then glanced to where Excalibur lay. **"Please, give me back… my sword…"** King pleaded softly while gazing to the old blade, Naruto looking at it for a moment, a voice echoing somewhere in the back of his mind.

"_**We could keep that blade, it's amazing power could be our own… with it, even The Betrayer would fall at our feet… and then beyond him… the world…"**_ The voice echoed out while Naruto walked over and picked up Excalibur, gazing at it's blade intently where a series of ancient runes were etched into it. However, Naruto was unable to read the words and instead looked to King for a moment before mentally sighing. _**'I just know I'm going to regret this someday…'**_ He thought to himself while walking over to King, then knelt down and placed the ancient sword over his torso and folded his hands overtop the hilt of the weapon.

"**And so it is decided…"** King whispered while shadows and darkness flowed off of his body and then swirled and spiraled around Naruto. The shadows then seemed to form over Naruto's face, the blond backing away from King as it happened. As it did the ring that the blond was wearing suddenly broke and the silver and ruby that made up the object slithered upwards into the black mass as it suddenly forming over his face, his hands instantly going to stop them while King fell to his knees. The King of Blades silently watched this before closing his eyes once more, his armor cracking as he did so.

"**The King… has finally fallen… his realm is left to the new blood of the new court…"** King's deep ominous voice echoed out while Naruto removed his hands from his face, an ebony mask over his face depicting silver marks around his eyes, three silver clefts at the sides of his cheeks, and a silver lined red gem at his forehead, the rest covered by his mask / hood. **"Now… a **_**Prince of Blades**_** rises to take control of The Court."** King's voice echoed out as his armor, sword and clothes faded into flakes of flame, soon burning out completely and leaving only his mask behind. Taking in several deep breaths, Naruto then reached a single hand up to his own mask before narrowing his eyes on King's mask.

Naruto then made a clawing motion over his mask, as if tearing it off; the mask then fading out of view to reveal his old leather facemask instead. Cracking his neck, Naruto knelt down and picked up King of Blades mask before looking at it intently. **"Thank you old King, rest now and go in peace… while **_**I**_** take the reigns, and remind the world of who The Court really is."** Naruto stated while his eyes burned a bright burning red for a moment, then hooked King's mask to his hip and then turned on his heel, grabbing the Sword of Plun-Darr and putting it away as well. Turning on his heel, Naruto walked towards the exit of the throne room, only for a shadowy portal to open as the new Prince of Blades exited it to make his way back to Albion…

TBC…

AN: For a look at Will and his new outfit, here's a pic I made, just remove the spaces… http : /26lordpain. deviantart. com/art/The-Deal-that-was-made-272947041

*1: "Hello, my name is Will."

*2: "Which one is the ugly one?"

*3: "Those who watch their backs meet death from the front." An Old Drow Proverb.

*4: "Maybe it's because you are an evil Warlord." There doesn't seem to be a word for "Overlord" in Drow, so Warlord will have to do.

*5: "Perhaps it's because they don't come from here... or maybe just because I'm an Archon that I'm not this stupid."


	16. Rose

**Disclaimer**: I own anything within; this story is merely a way for me to alleviate boredom…

[Jester: Hail! Prince of Blades!

Gnarl: Aye!

Jester: Ruler of The Void!

Giblet: Here here!

Jester: Killer of Hollow-Men!

Doc: He's so going to make himself into an ass with the next one…

Jester: Bully of Jesters! HA HA HA HA!

Snake: You right Doc…]

_Companions_:

**Zim**: Inactive

**Tak**: Inactive

**Tora**: Inactive

**Grunge**: Inactive

**Manasa**: Inactive

**Slythe**: Inactive

**Panthro**: Inactive

**Azula**: Inactive

**Will**: Active

_Horde Size_: 0

_Active Minions in Horde_: 0

_Other_: 5 Primary Grays, 5 Primary Browns, 5 Primary Greens

_**NU**_: _**Dark Lord**_ +

_**Chapter 15**_: _**Rose**_…

"Normal Speech"…

'_Normal Thoughts_'…

[Radio/Tower Heart In Use]…

"**Jutsu In Use**"…

"**Demon Speech**"…

'_**Demon Thoughts**_'…

"_**Inner Spirit Speech**_"…

(Underworld…)

Though normally calm, the Underworld was having a moment of insanity all around, Ayame sitting and gaping as dozens of Minions were passing around large drinks to one another and literally passing out from the amount they were drinking. Not only that, but Gnarl's little celebration to the end of all the Heroes of Albion had also given way to everyone, some Orcs, a couple Naga, Goblins, the ambassadors who came from the Beast-Men races, and a couple odd little men with grey skin, white beards, and red spines coming off of their beards / heads… _'What is going on?'_ Ayame wondered to herself as she sat next to Tora, who was between herself an Manasa, Rika at Manasa's other side and Tak at Ayame's.

"Oi lads!" Grunge suddenly exclaimed and Tora snickered as her now very drunk uncle hopped onto a table and stumbled for a moment. One of the strange dark-grey skinned men helped him stand and he shook his head before raising his glass. "Now 'hen, we need to pay respects… to the man who made this joy truly possible!" Grunge exclaimed and Tora started to snicker while nursing her own glass of beer, Rika, Ayame, and Manasa just staring at them while Tak was already hopelessly drunk and swaying with a stupid looking grin on her face.

"A course many would say it be da master what made this possible, and aye he did bring us together." Grunge started and the gathered Minions raised their glasses in cheer. "Others would say it were our leaders who brought us together…" Grunge continued and the other races started to raise their glasses as well, Rataro rubbing his temples while sipping on his drink. "But we all know of one man who brought us this fine brew, a man who cannot be called a mere man…" Grunge started and many of the orcs and the strange grey-skinned many started to rise to their feet.

"A 'course I'm talking 'bout Charlie Mops lads! So here here to Charlie Mops!" Grunge declared loudly while raising his drink and several Minions suddenly grinned and flipped onto the tables as Grunge fell back and landed back first on the ground. Jester then flipped back and landed with a group of browns and greens with instruments and cleared his throat for a moment, then pointed to the instrument players who started on a tune, then motioned towards the minions on the tables to begin…

"Beer, beer, beer, tiddly, beer, beer, beer." The minions started to sing and Ayame raised a brow, unable to understand a word any of them were saying while Tora started laughing and Manasa started to bang her head on the table. _'Okay what the hell are they doing now?'_ Ayame wondered while several Lizard-Men servants started to pass out drinks, only for Panthro, Slythe, one of the grey-skinned men, Bio, Banzai, and a now picked up and yet stumbling about Grunge, started to sing with the minions.

"A long time ago way back in history, when all there was to drink were nothing but cups o' tea, along came a man by the name of Charlie Mops and he invented a wonderful drink and he made it out of hops!" The men sung in a drunken drawl, Ayame blinking before gaping at the stupidity of what the strange men were doing. Manasa groaned while shaking her head, Rika palming her face and wondering why here mother was drinking off to the side. Tora just continued to snicker while watching her uncle make a fool out of himself, while Tak grinned and started to hum the tune to herself.

"Hey! He must've been an admiral, a sultan or a king, and to his praises we shall always sing, look what he has done for us, he's filled us up with cheer! Lord bless Charlie Mops the man who invented beer, beer, beer, tiddly, beer, beer, beer." The men continued to sing with one another, in probably the only thing that wouldn't actually have Panthro and Slythe at one another's throats. However the short and stocky grey skinned man with the beard then stumbled forward with a drunk still grasped firmly in his hand.

"The Drunken Rat, the Aiken drum, the Trowles pub as well, one thing you can be sure of, its Charlie's beer they sell." The short man sung out while raising his mug with a grin across his face, Grunge stumbling while grinning at the short being.

"So all ye' lads and lasses at 11o'clock ye stop, for 5 short seconds, remember Charlie Mops." Grunge sang out while drunkenly stumbling about, and the men and minions around the "pub" started to clap their hands before going silent as Grunge and the short man leaned towards them.

"One. Two. Three. Four. Five… Hey!" Grunge and the short being started to count before exclaiming at the end with laughs as the entire burst into song once more, Jester still conducting the band, while Gnarl watched with a grin on his face.

"He must've been an admiral, a sultan or a king and to his praises we shall always sing, look what he has done for us, he's filled us up with cheer! Lord bless Charlie Mops, the man who invented beer, beer, beer, tiddly, beer, beer, beer." The men around the "pub" sang aloud while making utter and complete fools out of themselves in the process.

"A bushel of malt, a barrel of hops, you stir it around with a stick, the kind of lubrication to make your engines tick." Banzai sang out loud while then falling onto his ass with a laugh, Bio hopping forward while somehow stumbling at the same time.

"Forty pints of wallop a day, will keep away the quacks, it's only eight pence Ha'penny and one in six in tax!" Bio sang out loud before he and Banzai grinned to one another and looked out towards the men and drunks around them. Near the back of the pub, Shenzi was sitting with a laughing his ass of Ed, both of them completely drunk out of their heads as they sang along with the song.

"One. Two. Three. Four. Five… Hey!" They sang together before the entire "pub" suddenly broke out into song yet again. _'I have absolutely no idea what they're singing, and yet I just know they are all behaving like idiots…'_ Ayame thought to herself while watching the pub as everyone acted like a complete moron. However she then noticed that regardless, they all seemed to be enjoying themselves, for a moment race and species didn't matter as everyone was enjoying the drunken little song that Grunge had somehow managed to instigate upon them all.

"He must've been an admiral, a sultan or a king and to his praises we shall always sing, look what he's done to us, he's filled us up with cheer! Lord bless Charlie Mops, the man who invented beer!" The entire pub sang allowed, save for those who weren't drunk of course, some of those singing also banging their mugs on the tables and counters to add to the beat of the song. Among them was Rika's mother Zorua who seemed a little flushed as she nearly fell out of her seat next to Rataro, one of the few not drunk males, who was rubbing his temples and trying to ignore the idiocy around him.

"Beer, beer, beer, tiddly, beer, beer, beer, THE LORD BLESS CHARLIE MOPS!" The pub continued to sing before many fell back trying to down their entire mugs, some laughing at them as they did while still more ordered more to drink. As the song ended Tora suddenly grabbed up Manasa and Ayame into headlocks and then grinned widely while humming the tune of the song to herself.

"Oh I love that song! Encore encore!" The Half-Orcish girl exclaimed loudly while Ayame and Manasa looked at the unnaturally strong girl with wide eyes while trying to break free of her hold. Around the room the request was heard and the drunken singers suddenly grinned to one another.

"Beer, beer, beer, tiddly, beer, beer, beer…" They started to sing once more, Manasa and Ayame struggled to get free of Tora's grip on their heads… while Rika.

"Oh by Kami, no more no more!" She exclaimed while gripping her semi-long ears and pulling them down with a grimace. Sure it was painful, but she thought listening to that stupid drunken song of the men's was a far crueler fate in her own opinion…

"A long time ago way back in history, when all there was to drink were nothing but cups o' tea, along came a man by the name of Charlie Mops and he invented a wonderful drink and he made it out of hops!" The pub started to sing aloud once more, Gnarl snickering to himself as he watched it happen yet again… ahh… he really needed to have this happen more often, yeah, maybe for every hero they killed he could have a huge celebration or something… eh, it was something to suggest to Naruto at least…

(Albion…)

"Do you think he's alright?" Sam asked his brother while he, Max, and Will all sat within the idol-chamber where Naruto had disappeared. Will however seemed to be shaking like a leaf and looking here and there warily, his eyes however showed the fear that he was desperately trying to hide within himself. However he then turned and watched as a familiar black portal opened, both Sam and Max blinking as two strange beings dressed in black armor with red clothing, their helmets mostly obscuring the black masks that they wore beneath them. The two wielded a pair of swords, which they then dug into the ground while kneeling down as Naruto walked out of the portal behind them.

"Uhhh… milord, who are they?" Max questioned as Naruto looked to the two armored beings for a moment, and then crossed his arms over his chest.

"Pawns of Blades." Naruto replied and Will twitched while moving back and as far away from the pawns as he physically could.

"Pawns… of Blades?" Sam questioned while Naruto silently nodded his head and then stalked towards the two morons.

"Yeah… now then, we need to have a little talk about me saving your retched hides…" Naruto growled out while Sam and Max grinned nervously before the youth motioned for the Pawns to move. Both zipped forward with blinding speed and forced Sam and Max to kneel down, swords crossed at their throats. Smirking slightly as Sam and Max looked at the blond with wide eyes; Naruto then crouched down to get at eye-level with the two. "You two had better have something to repay me for my troubles." Naruto stated and both Sam and Max quickly nodded their heads.

"Aye! Aye! We do! Just call off the bloody pawns!" Max declared while Naruto looked to the Pawns who silently removed their blades from their throats then forced them up to their feet.

"Get moving." Naruto ordered the two and Sam and Max walked off, the Pawns following behind them as the blond Overlord followed them with a frown. Watching this happen silently, Will then followed behind the young Overlord while remaining ever wary of the two Pawns of Blades. Soon the group walked out of the caves and Max glared at his brother with a clearly annoyed look on his face.

"Well this is another fine mess you've gotten us into!" Max suddenly declared and Sam gaped at his brother incredulously.

"Me? 'Ow in the bloody hell is this my fault?" Sam demanded but before the two morons could start blaming one another for what happened the two Pawns brained them. Grimacing in pain, the two looked back to see an annoyed Naruto watching them and both grimaced. "I just knew I should've stayed in bed this mornin'…" Sam mumbled to himself with Max nodding his head in total agreement while they soon approached a small cave to the side of Bowerstone Lake.

"Over there is a cave wit' a chest in it, it's all yours…" Max offered before being pushed by the Pawns to lead Naruto to it, said youth smirking slightly at his new and a bit more effective "enforcers" than the Minions back home. _'And to think, I have at least six more of these guys back in The Void.'_ Admittedly, Naruto wouldn't stop using his Minions, but he was glad that now he had something that could actually strike a little more fear into men's hearts. If put between the tiny and rather comical Minions and armored warrior's like the Pawns who were ready to cut you to ribbons, Naruto knew that the Pawns would always be the more frightening.

"Ere it is milord… he he he…" Sam offered with a nervous chuckle and Naruto looked at them for a moment while the Pawns kept both of the two-morons within arms reach. Kicking the chest open, Naruto didn't see much inside, however he then reached within and pulled out a very large black egg with purple markings across its surface. _'There is no way this came from a bird, it's the size of my damn head!'_ Naruto thought to himself before rubbing his chin and reaching back to pat his Faerie Satchel, both Argent and Kara flying out to hover around the blond haired youth.

"You called sire?" Argent questioned and Naruto nodded his head while showing the two the egg he'd found in the chest. However both unseelie instantly noticed the slight change to their master thus looked to one another for a moment before looking back to him and the egg.

"What kind of egg is this?" Naruto questioned and Kara zipped down and looked over the egg intently before her eyes visibly widened.

"It's a Shadow-Dragon egg!" She stated and both Sam and Max gaped before looking at the egg fearfully.

"Quite the find master, not many of the Shadow Dragons still exist." Argent noted mostly to herself while Naruto frowned deeply while looking to the egg.

"Any reason for that?" Naruto questioned and Argent nodded her head while stretching out her limbs for a moment.

"They were similar to Abyss Dragons in that they could control Shadow-Magic, however they were weaker, more prone to violence, breathed out shadows rather than acid, were black skinned, and lived underground where their black scales allowed them to blend in with the darkness and surprise unsuspecting enemies. 'Course cause of their abilities, more than a few blokes wanted 'em all dead, so they were hunted down by humans, dwarves, elves, and even a few other races, but unlike the Abyss-Dragons, they managed to endure." Argent replied in explanation and Naruto hummed lightly while looking down at the egg, and wondering how many Shadow-Dragons were still around.

"Oh bloody 'ell, I jus' knew it, everything we find is dangerous…" Sam declared and got looks from the others while Max nodded in agreement with his brother. Ignoring them, Kara placed her ear onto the egg and listened to it for a moment before tapping it a few times and humming lightly.

"It's not damaged, and I think we could get the egg to hatch if we give it a little time Sire." Kara then stated and Naruto looked at the egg for a moment before nodding his head and placed it into the Faerie Satchel, only half surprised that it managed to fit within the pouch.

"Kara, Argent, can you and the other fairies watch over the egg till we get back home?" Naruto questioned and Kara quickly nodded her head before zipping back into his faerie satchel. Argent then followed while Naruto turned to Sam and Max and snapped his fingers, the two Pawns bowing at the waist before backing up into a pair of shadowy portals.

"Tha's it?" Max questioned of the blond and Naruto gave him a flat look.

"Get out of here before I change my mind." Naruto stated while waving them off and both men ran away as quickly as they could. Frowning as they did, Naruto looked to Will for a moment before motioning for him to follow him. Making their way across Bowerstone Field, Naruto approached a sign that pointed in the direction of Bowerstone City and motioned for Will to continue following him. Walking along the path with his arms crossed, Naruto only partly wondered why Sam and Max hadn't noticed he had talons for feet, and then figured they just never looked down.

'_I'll kill them later, for the moment I'd just rather not be around them…'_ Naruto mentally decided as he and Will approached the city gates and approached a large snow covered town. Walking passed the city gates and into the town-square, Naruto saw a Sparrow fly nearby and hummed lightly, Will's eyes shooting to it and watching it fly off towards the back of the city. Looking around for a moment, Naruto then saw a stand with weapons and walked over to it, Will scanning the crowds for someone as he did. Ignoring his young companion, Naruto approached the stand and cupped his chin thoughtfully as he looked at a strange looking weapon, most of which had a metal body with a trigger on the underside, a tiny "hammer" at the back, and some having a turning middle section.

"What the hell…?" Naruto questioned lowly while approaching the stand, Will silently following the young Overlord as he did so.

"Oi lad, ye be looking at me guns then?" The blacksmith behind the stand questioned and Naruto tilted his head to one side and raised a brow.

"Guns?" The blond questioned and the man nodded his head with a slight frown.

"Aye, guns, ye know bit better 'den the ol' fashioned bows an whatnot seein as ye can use two at a time an don need ta be reloading ever shot… save for all the bloody noise they make when ye fire 'em off they just be better than de bow. Though I hear quite a few marksmen still prefer the ol' bow or more modern crossbow over 'em." The Blacksmith explained and Naruto hummed lightly while tapping his chin and gazing from the guns to the swords and other weapons the man had in stock. "Oi lad, don' be eyeing me wares unless ye be planning on actually buying somethin'." The blacksmith stated and Naruto raised a brow while looking up at the Blacksmith.

"You mean you have no problem with selling weapons to a kid?" Naruto asked him seriously and the Blacksmith scoffed before leaning forward.

"Lad, do ye know how many bloody fools who are just kid's like you come 'ere for weapons and armor and whatnot? 'Alf of em think they be de "Chosen One" or some such malarkey, other 'alf just wanna impress some wee or somethin', I make a right bloody killen' off a dem fools." The Blacksmith replied with a slight grin and Naruto still wondered if people were dumb in Albion… though sort of figured that this particular blacksmith seemed to be an exception to the rule. "So lad, what ye be looking fer? Long as ye got the coin ter pay me I don't rightly care what you do with anything." The man questioned while Naruto hummed for a moment and the blacksmith looked him over for a little bit before frowning lightly.

"At be an odd looking crown lad… any reason ye be wearing it?" The blacksmith questioned and Naruto chuckled nervously. He honestly never thought of what he'd tell people if they asked about his clothes when he left Gnarl and the others.

"Uh… yeah, it's sort of a helmet." Naruto lied since his hood hid the majority of the crown away and he didn't think he'd mind a helmet.

"Ah, good idea lad, ye wouldn't believe 'ow many bloody morons I see who leave their head unprotected." The Blacksmith noted before looking to the blond's fingers while Naruto was thankful for his scales. "Oi, claw rings… good for close quarters but not really advisable when ye be fighting a monster…" He noted aloud, Naruto blinking and looking up as he reached back and pulled an odd looking Katana free. "Ow bout a sword instead lad, this is a Katana, and a masterwork one at that, though the fact many a blacksmith make 'em now a days make de price a little reasonable, though broadswords are a bit rarer an expensive if'n that's your preference." The Blacksmith offered and Naruto pulled the Blade of Plun-Darr free and unlocked its blades, the Blacksmith blinking in surprise as Naruto leaned one of the blades into his shoulder.

"No thanks, I have this and it's served me quite well against the Hollow Men I encountered outside of town." Naruto replied and the Blacksmith rubbed his chin, putting the katana down and leaned forward to gaze at the weapon.

"Min' if I had a look at 'er lad?" The blacksmith questioned and Naruto tossed him the weapon and he hummed while looking it over. Spinning it for a moment before nodding his head he then sliced through some wood with a surprised look, and then balanced it in his hands before clicking his tongue. "Impressive. Perfectly balanced, light as a bloody feather, and sharper than a razors edge, ye got yeself a fine weapon. Only problem I see, is that you can only hold it in one 'and, what wit it's handle so short an all. 'Ell, if the thing weren't so light it'd be worthless as a weapon." The blacksmith noted mostly to himself while Naruto took the sword back while the blacksmith rubbed his chin for a moment and then snapped his fingers.

"Now 'at might be right up your ally lad…" He said mostly to himself before kneeling down and started to look around, and then stood back up and presented a fairly long dagger of some kind. "At be a Dirk lad, lots a highwaymen use 'em as well as a large sword for dual-wielding weapons. It's good fer thrusting an such as well as a bit a slicing, but it's not made for being used as a full sword or anything. It's a Vipersteel Dirk too, best one ye could find and one a de last bits a old weaponry I still 'ave lying around." The Blacksmith explained and Naruto hummed before reaching for the dirk, still holding the Blade of Plun-Darr in his right hand he held the Dirk in his left in a forward grip.

"No lad, hold it backwards. 'Ats 'ow you use that blade wit another." The Blacksmith ordered and Naruto flipped the blade to a backhand grip and hummed while swinging it for a moment. _'I could use Victoria like this, but it could be damaged and I don't want to damage Sylvanas-Hime's dagger… and this one is pretty light and all.'_ Naruto admitted before nodding his head and placed the weapon onto the counter and looked up at the blacksmith.

"I'll take it, and could you show me what types of those guns you have in stock? And I mean the best you got…" Naruto asked the blacksmith and could almost swear that he saw dollar-signs appear in his eyes as he then quickly grabbed several of the guns and laid them out in a row on his counter.

"A'right lad, I got a Pistol, Rifle, and Blunderbuss, and I have 'em in the Flintlock, Turret, and Clockwork variations, but I only 'ave 'em in Iron. If ye want steel ye'd 'ave to find a better blacksmith than me." The Blacksmith explained while Naruto looked at each of the weapons and hummed lightly for a moment. Inwardly he was trying to decide if he should try and buy all the guns, or come back and steal them later, though he kind of liked this guy and figured he would lock up his stock at night making it harder than hell to get too…

'_Hey Gnarl, do you think it's worth me buying these?'_ Naruto questioned while looking at the weapons and then stopped and frowned when he couldn't hear an answer. _'Gnarl? Hey! Are you even there?'_ The blond overlord questioned with a frown and heard a nervous chuckle echo in his mind, though the voice didn't belong to Gnarl.

_[Sorry, Sire, but Gnarl is a bit… indisposed for the moment.]_ The voice of Shin came and Naruto raised a brow while wondering what his librarian was doing watching the Overlord-Heart… shouldn't he be watching the books or something?

'_Shin, what are you doing there, and where's Gnarl?'_ Naruto questioned inwardly while humming lightly as he continued to stare at the weapons with a thoughtful look.

"Oi lad, I'll cut ye a deal if'n ye want to buy 'em all…" The man suddenly said and Naruto nodded his head and held up a single finger to get him to give him a moment.

_[As to my current station, Gnarl asked me to watch the Heart for him…and as for Gnarl… well sire, it seems that after learning of the demise of the Hero's Guild, Gnarl wanted to celebrate… so he and half the underworld are presently drunk off their collective assess and singing. And I feel I should add that they are singing very badly at that.]_ Shen explained and Naruto frowned however made no other move nor even looked that surprised, in fact, he looked sort of bored.

'_Is it weird that I sort of expected this of him?'_ Naruto asked Shin seriously and the Librarian chuckled for a moment before replying.

_[Not really, Gnarl is still a minion sire. Now what is it you need?]_ Shin asked and Naruto looked to the guns lined up on the blacksmiths counter before replying.

'_I'm wondering if it'd be worthwhile to purchase these gun things for back home? I probably won't use one but I can bet Gnarl would salivate at the idea of equipping our armies with these things. Oh, and how the hell do I get gold from you guys? Cause if I have to come all the way back there, pick some up, then walk back here, I'll be really pissed off.'_ Naruto replied while placing the Blade of Plun-Darr away in his cloak and Shin hummed for a moment.

_[Yes… I believe you're right about Gnarl's reaction. And I do believe that if these guns are anything like the ones in Azeroth then they'd make a fine addition to our armies. As for the money, I'll simply transport you some through the Overlord-Gems your wearing, they function as miniature Waypoint gates for potions and gold and such.]_ Shin explained and Naruto nodded his head before looking up to the blacksmith.

"I'll take 'em, but what do you have in the way of light armor?" Naruto questioned and the man reached up to rub at his chin for a moment, Will lightly snoring nearby and quite clearly sleeping… The Blacksmith then ducked down behind his counter and started to move some stuff around for a short while before placing a chainmail vest onto the counter.

"A'right armor is sort of rare now a days boyo, what wit de 'eros guild being gone an all. However this 'ere is a bit a personal protection used even by some adventurers now a days. It's a simple 'ittle vest ye wear under ye clothes and ye don' have to worry as much about swords or the like." The man replied and Naruto nodded his head while looking at the simple vest. While he trusted his scales to take the brunt of many attacks, a bit more protection never hurt anyone.

"I'll take it all." Naruto stated and the blacksmith grinned before calculating the cost on his fingers for a few moments. However as he did he mentally grimaced before looking at Naruto with a slight frown.

"Lad, ye sure ye can afford it all, it's all comes to quite a pretty bit a gold…" The large burly man noted and Naruto crossed his arms over his chest with a slight frown.

"I'm technically a lord… so yeah, I can afford it." Naruto replied and the burly blacksmith rubbed the back of his neck at that tiny tidbit of information.

"Oh… ah… sorry, 'ow bout a nother little discount then milord, least I can do for visiting royalty." The man offered and Naruto inwardly muttered a "kiss up" to himself while the Blacksmith continued his calculations.

"Okay… let's see now, nine guns, one a each type an' model, a dirk, and an out of style bit a chainmail armor… that'll be eleven thousand gold lad." The blacksmith stated and Naruto had to restrain himself from gaping at the man incredulously. _'Holy shit, if that's with a discount I'd hate to pay full price!'_ Naruto thought to himself before reaching back, a bag of gold appearing in his hand which he then placed onto the counter for the blacksmith. Picking up the bag and looking over the coins, the burly man nodded his head before binding all the guns together as Naruto placed the Dirk into the loop of his belt and slipped the chainmail vest on, tucking it under his belt a bit since it was a little big on him. Picking up the guns and slinging them over his shoulder, Naruto then walked off, grabbing Will by his cloak and pulling him with him.

"Ave a good day lad, an' be sure to come back if ye need anything else!" The blacksmith cried out, Naruto giving a nod in his direction while walking through town. Sending the guns to Castle-Plun-Darr when he was out of sight of most people, he idly noted a gypsy caravans er… he actually didn't know the name, but it was one of their homes or something, a carriage maybe? Eh, it'd do for now, and he really needed to study when he got back to the tower. However, as the thought faded from his mind someone exited the carriage, her footsteps thunking lightly and drawing both boys attention. Turning to the carriage, Naruto then turned and found a woman looking at him.

She was old with darkly tanned skin, dark red hair, pure milky white eyes, and was dressed in red and white with many gold rings worn on her fingers. Looking at her, Naruto could almost swear he'd seen her before, like a memory at the back of his mind that just didn't want to form. However when she spoke, her wizened old voice seemed almost wrong in some way, like it didn't suit or even fit the woman though it was hers. "Greetings young ones, I've been expecting you for some time now." The woman noted with a slight nod and Naruto narrowed his eyes onto the woman, Will raising a brow while looking at her in confusion.

"You… know us?" Naruto asked with a raised brow and a frown, as far as he knew only Gnarl and a few back at Castle-Plun-Darr knew where he was going. So that meant that this woman had somehow gained information that no one in Albion should have, and least of all should they be actively expecting them. Even if she'd run into Sam and Max it wasn't likely that they told her anything useful about her… unless it was about him killing Hollowmen, or having a dragons egg… crap…

"Indeed I do, I have seen your coming in the cars… or rather, two specific cards." The woman noted before holding up two cards and showing them, Naruto's eyes bolting open upon seeing one. It was a black king playing card, normally Naruto would say the King of Spades, accept that it was The King of Blades, _**literally**_, the card even had swords rather than spades on it. The other however, was the Jack of Blades, somehow as Naruto looked at it, his eyes darted to Will who was shaking on the spot his eyes seeming to dilate into small pinpricks of light within the shadows of his hood. "A King and a Jack have wandered here. The time for evil draws ever near…" The woman noted aloud before slipping the cards into her clothes and folded her hands together.

"I give you each a fortune from me, to the young Hero, know that you must keep your friends close, lest you lose yourself to a more powerful being." The woman warned Will, the boy looking around before slipping behind Naruto as the blond glared and let out a low growl. "Now to the young Overlord, The Void draws near with armies abound, The Fade draws closer with power unfound, The Infernal Abyss' master lurks and plots in its depths, and Oblivion is awakened its lords in unrest. Beyond albions shores lay the Islands of Orcades, where you shall meet new allies and family alike. Beware of the man with one eye, hidden behind a mask of wood, for death is all that lay beyond his hood." The woman offered with a strange half smile on her lips, Naruto frowning deeply while looking at her warily.

"Just who are you?" Naruto questioned of the strange gypsy woman, said woman merely smiling at him strangely.

"My name is Theresa; I am an Archon, descendant of William Black, formerly known as The Blind Seeress to many, the Bandit Queen to some, and The Mistress of The Dark Tower to others… and, I am also your distant grandmother, young Overlord." The woman replied, Naruto gaping, then remembering how The King of Blades had said he was descended from William and his older brother… well… now he knew how at least. "Now come, there is much to do, and little time for you to do it." Theresa urged while turning on her heel and walking off, Naruto blinking before following after the old woman with a frown.

"Wait, what do you mean that we have much to do?" Naruto questioned of the woman and she smiled slightly while looking at him from the corner of her eye.

"You have an ally in waiting young one, and a family for this one to reclaim. Now come, a little Sparrow, and a blooming Rose await us." Theresa replied with amusement before walking off into the distance, Naruto scratching his head as Will continued following behind the woman. _'I've got really weird relatives…'_ Naruto decided before letting out a breath and following behind the hooded blind seeress.

(?)

In the village of refugees from the land of Thedas is a small home or perhaps a large shed, it has a metal fence around it and tall grass surrounding it. Within is a blond haired girl, who has somehow fashioned her hair into a pair of swooped upward horns. She sits back with cold eyes glaring at a book as she rubbed her chin with a thoughtful look on her face. She is dressed in an old worn pink dress with a yellow daisy on it, a black hair band, long black / white striped fingerless gloves and identical colored stockings, and a pair of black slip on shoes. Flipping a page of the book, she narrows her eyes on a spell and hums lightly in her throat.

She, much like Timmy, is an apostate, unlike the lucky brown haired boy her family tried to send her to the Circle of Mages in Thedas. Unfortunately for her captors they underestimated the lengths she would go to to get her freedom. This included all but selling her soul to a demon so that she could use blood magic and kill the annoyances and quickly get away. She'd been seven, maybe six, at the time and became a homeless orphan, playing the sad hungry child routine when it suited her and she needed a warm place to stay at night… and then the Dark Spawn came. While she normally didn't mind, really just didn't care, about the deaths of thousands, the fact that they destroyed everything including her home didn't really sit well with her.

Unfortunately, she could do little, if anything, about this so when a ship left Thedas she stowed away with it. This was both fortunate and annoying as she was brought to this strange land, without even a trace of the psychotic stigma against mages, yet it also had absolutely no signs of ever having mages either. This meant that while she had some idea of how to use magic, it was minor at best and she had to try and use it through trial and error. Fortunately, she was an extremely intelligent young woman, and easily found what the problem was with trying to use magic as she and other mages from the land of Thedas were nearly unable to do so.

The truth of the matter was that they had been trying to summon magic from The Fade, now this of course had problems. Demons could find and consume them, their magic was always given a slight taint from The Fade, and a few other more minor problems. Now unlike with Thedas, these lands had Magic pouring out of every tree, rock, or blade of grass, meaning that unlike Thedas they had no need of using The Fade, which seemed to be closer to Thedas than here. Thus by trying so hard to pull magic from The Fade, any mages in these lands would be hindering themselves as it was easier to simply teach one's self how to draw in the magic that was already present all around them and then cast the spell.

This sounded simple in theory, but thanks to years of getting used to using Magic a certain way, meant that mages from Thedas were extremely impaired in places like the lands they were in, and they just didn't have the flexibility to change the way they used magic. This is where she is lucky, her limited use of Magic before meant it was easier to differentiate, not to mention the Desire Demon who helped her free herself was still with her due to the deal she made with "her", though couldn't form a body so far from The Fade. And for the moment, she was trying to do things on her own so that she didn't rely on the demon too much.

"_**Really, must you think so poorly of me? I could teach you such **__**wondrous**__** things if only you allowed me too…"**_ The Desire Demon's seductive voice cooed in her mind and the girl frowned eyes before closing her eyes.

'_I don't want to learn a million different ways to please a man __**or**__ a woman, romance is for the weak minded…'_ The girl mentally grumbled and the Desire Demon let out a mental chuckle within her mind.

"_**Aww, does one need to love another to enjoy certain pleasures?"**_ The Desire Demon retorted and she mentally admitted she had a point, before frowning as she remembered how stupid adults got when said pleasures were involved.

'_Still don't need your help with such things; I'm barely twelve years old…'_ The blond reminded pointedly and the Desire Demon seemed to harrumph while the girl frowned when the door was slammed open. Looking to the door, ther girl's eyes flared a dangerous red before she frowned deeper, her eyes flashing a bright burning red, upon seeing an orange haired boy grinning towards her widely.

"Hiya, Mandy!" The boy declared while sliding forward and grinning widely the blond girl raising a brow with a frown.

"What do you want Billy, I'm busy." The blond girl stated flatly and the orange haired youth grinned at her once more.

"I found those smoky stinky papery stick things that you like!" The orange haired lad replied while holding out some cigarettes, the young blond rolling her eyes before snatching them from his hands and twirling one of them between her fingers.

"Anything else?" She questioned with a raised brow and Billy sat down and started to hum, arms crossed and a large book visibly sticking out of a satchel he was carrying around. _'I really need new friends…'_ The blond haired girl decided inwardly while silently watching Billy for a moment, then stuck the cigarette between her lips, then snapped her fingers to create a bit of fire at the tip of her thumb. Unfortunately this not only allowed her to ignite the cig, but also drew Billy's attention as he giggled stupidly and grinned towards the girl.

"I love how you make fire like that Mandy! It's just sooooo cool!" The boy declared and the now named girl rolled her eyes once more before taking a long drag off of the cig. Unfortunately, the habit of smoking she picked up not long ago, more because she wanted to try it and didn't want to stop than anything else… plus someone told her she shouldn't, and she didn't take orders from anyone. "Do it again Mandy! Make fire again! Please?" Billy pleaded and the blond girl gave him a flat look before crossing her arms and leaning back, plucking the cig from her lips she then blew some smoke into Billy's face and he coughed and waved it away.

"First tell me what else you found." Mandy ordered and Billy nodded his head and started to think once more, before finally snapping his fingers as Mandy slipped the cig back between her lips.

"Well, I went out to explore around those old ruins with all the spikes and vines and such and I found you a book! It has all kinds of weird looking pictures like letters but no fun pictures so I thought you might like it since you like weird books like that!" Billy explained with his tongue sticking out from the side of his mouth and Mandy reached out and snatched the book from him. Looking it over with a frown, the blond haired girl raised a brow seeing several spells, one she was interested in was Soul Trap, there was also a Summon Familiar, a curse to call on death itself, and quite a few more as well.

'_Well now that is interesting, I never expected Billy to find me a spell-book of all things…'_ The blond girl thought to herself while looking over each of the spells for a short moment and then frowned when Billy leaned up close to her.

"Well Mandy, did I do good? Huh? Did I do good?" Billy suddenly questioned while grinning towards his blond haired friend, the girl frowning for a moment before muttering under her breath about needing new friends yet again. Lifting her cig with her lips for a moment, the blond girl then reached up and removed it before sighing out a bit more smoke and fixing him with a look.

"You did fine…" She stated flatly and Billy grinned, that being the best kind of compliment that the girl would give.

"Woo! You know you're really so much nicer than Miss Vicky at the orphanage Mandy! And you're just so lucky you get to live here instead of with the rest of us over there." Billy noted aloud and Mandy frowned deeply, she knew many things about Victoria "Vicky" Foster, whom was the twin sister of the most helpful, if just a bit over worked and stressed girl in town next to Jasmine Fenton, Francine "Frankie" Foster… and many of the things she knew, Vicky definitely wouldn't want getting out.

"Whatever, not get lost so I can study this for a while…" Mandy ordered flippantly while leaning back and looking over the pages of the book, Billy stupidly saluting and then marching out of the home while Mandy did. Stopping for a moment, Mandy narrowed her eyes and turned her cig to the other side of her mouth with a deep frown on her face. _'I'm not the only Blood Mage here… I know your secret, Vicky… and I know what you did back in Thedas.'_ The blond haired girl thought, her eyes flashing a brilliant crimson red as she did before returning to a dull grey color…

(Albion…)

Naruto sat with Will on a rooftop watching a pair of girls, the older of the two with dark auburn colored hair was named Rose, while the little brown haired girl was named Sparrow… or her sister just liked to call her that, he wasn't really sure. Regardless, both were dressed in ratty old clothes and lived in what could only be classified as some kind of wooden shack or something in the bad part of town. He and Will had watched them for a while now, on suggestion from Theresa, and Naruto made a note to find the man in the top-hat at some point, and then do horribly painful things to him. His sole reason for this was the guy made some kind of pass at Rose, that involved money to feed herself and her little sister, and he felt like the slob deserved a slow painful death for it.

That was something that was becoming more prevalent to Naruto, his aggression and anger seemed to be getting worse. Not only that, but he was starting to see things, brief flashes of something he couldn't quite piece together. He saw so many things within a few moments, but the visions didn't last more than a few seconds after that. Clearly something was going on with him, and he suspected it had to do with The Power of The Void he had obtained from The King of Blades. However it was neither the time nor the place for such thoughts, for the moment, he was watching as Rose and Sparrow ran this way and that across Bowerstone Old Town in search of gold, getting a Dog along the way, with Will silently watching from his side.

'_You know, I sort of feel like a creepy stalker right now…'_ Naruto thought to himself with his arms crossed over his chest, Will sitting in a crouch at his side. The entire reason the girls were looking for gold, was to buy a stupid music-box, which a shady swindler was saying was magic, which was so obviously a lie Naruto couldn't help but physically groan in annoyance. However while annoyed, Naruto was curious to Theresa's reasons for telling them to buy it… _'Is it really magic?'_ Naruto wondered to himself and didn't drop the possibility; it was possible after all, especially considering the things he was learning about the world every day.

'_For five gold coins they could eat for a week… and yet still be no closer to living in a castle like they wish… for five gold coins they could buy a simple music-box, and perhaps, it's magic would give them what they most desire.'_ Naruto thought to himself, his eyes softening as he watched the two girls by the music box, having lived on the streets himself he could truly sympathize with their desire for something better. The fact they were actively trying to make that dream come true was also similar to him, though unlike him and Sylvanas, Naruto wasn't sure if the girls should completely trust Theresa. Admittedly, she was his grandmother, well she said so at least, and their great aunt or something, but like Gnarl had once said, never trust family.

'_I think I see why…'_ Naruto noted to himself before crossing his arms behind his neck and laying back as the girls went to test the box out. _'Hey Shin, you still there?'_ Naruto questioned inwardly, eyes closed and Will watching the girls for him.

_[Aye sire, what do you need?]_ The librarian questioned of his master and Naruto hummed lightly for a moment before frowning deeply. While he could believe Theresa's claim that she was his relative, he wanted some proof before he outright believed her.

'_Would I happen to be related to a woman named Theresa from Albion, she's blind, and pretty old from what I've seen and says she was called the blind seeress if that helps?'_ Naruto questioned and Shin hummed for a moment while thinking of what he knew about the past overlords.

_[Theresa, I know that name from somewhere… ah yes, her. She was mistress to Keldor, the father of The Old Overlord that The Betrayer killed all those many long years ago. After her son was born she taught him the powers of Strength and Will, yet left Skill out completely for some reason. Regardless his less than complete mastery of the abilities of Heroes didn't matter as he was more than powerful enough to kill his father. Course this was only after Keldor had gone completely insane after becoming a Lich and took on the moniker "Skeletor The Overlord of Evil" but I digress.]_ Shin explained to the blond haired youth and Naruto blinked, wondering why no one ever told him more about his very extended family.

'_So she really is my grandmother then… wait… how far back is she in terms of age?'_ Naruto questioned of the grey librarian, more interested in just how old the woman was more than anything else.

_[Let's see now… I believe that Keldor was Overlord around five to six hundred years ago, give or take a few decades of course.]_ Gnarl replied and Naruto widened his eyes before shaking his head and letting out a grunt.

'_If she's that old then she looks really good for a fossil…'_ Naruto mused mostly to himself before looking to Will as he started pulling on his cloak. Sitting back up, Naruto was surprised to see how late it had gotten before seeing Will was pointing to the girls little shack. Frowning deeply, Naruto slid down and came to a crouch as he watched a couple guards walk by with the girls following behind them. _'Something is seriously wrong here…'_ Naruto thought to himself, and narrowed his eyes as he looked to Will, the young sorcerer looking somewhat worried.

"We're going to follow them." Naruto stated and Will nodded his head before using Force-Push to fly / float after them, Naruto twitching before letting out a slight breath. _'Guess it's time for me to spread my wings and fly…'_ Naruto thought to himself while unfurling his wings, then flapped them once to rise into the air and caught a wind pocket. His wings caught the air and allowed him to glide across the air and after Will, who was glowing bright enough that he could spot him from a mile away. _'I'm going to have to teach that boy the meaning of stealth, I just know it.'_ Naruto thought to himself with a shake of his head and then flew after Will while keeping his eyes out for where the girls were heading.

When he saw them approaching Castle-Fairfax, Naruto raised a brow before diving down and grabbed Will up before flapping his wings and coming towards one of the castle-towers. Grabbing onto it, Naruto then frowned while looking down as Rose and Sparrow were brought into the castle. _'This can't be good… now to find a good vantage point and scope out what's going on in there.'_ Naruto decided while releasing Will, the boy holding onto a spike while Naruto used his claws and talons to climb across the roof and towards a window looking into the castle. There he saw Will and Rose in a large hall and narrowed his eyes before waving for Will to follow. Looking into the hall, Naruto watched the girls approach a room towards the back and stealthily made his way towards the back of the castle as well.

'_I don't know if that box really grants wishes or not, but I do know some guy living in a castle asking for two girls to be brought to him just doesn't sound right…'_ Naruto thought to himself while slipping around a few of the many spikes and such that seemed to cover the roof of the castle. As he did he idly made note of how large the castle was, and frowned at a severe lack of security for the place. _'I swear, a troop of fucking bandits could infiltrate this place and no one would be any the wiser to it.'_ The blond haired Overlord in Training thought as he soon came to a large stained glass window and looked beyond it to see what he thought was Rose and Sparrow entering a large room where a man was quite clearly waiting for them.

Unfortunately it was hard to see through the glass of the window, thus the blond had to settle for an approximation and guess work as to what was going on. _'Ugh, this is annoying, I better be prepared for anything, especially from this guy…'_ Naruto mentally decided while placing his ear to the glass and closed his eyes, attempting to hear what he couldn't quite see… "Would you kindly stand in the circle?" The man in the room questioned, Naruto raising a brow and wondering what he meant. A nervous sound came from someone else in the room, judging by the pitch Naruto guessed it was Rose. "I promise it won't hurt you." The man assured and a second later a series of footsteps echoed from the room as Naruto leaned back and gazed inside once more.

The stained glass colors of the window make it annoying to see, so Naruto moved around the window and finally found a spot he could see inside through, barely. Will slipped over to him as well and the two gazed inside and then noticed a large Heroes Guild Seal on a large stone circle near the back of the room. "Don't worry, little Sparrow, there's no need to be afraid." Rose tells her sister comfortingly and both Naruto and Will can't shake the sudden feeling that something very bad is about to happen.

"Get ready to bust in at the first signs of Trouble." Naruto tells Will with a no nonsense tone, the young mage silently nodding his head in agreement with the young Overlord. Quickly looking back inside through the window, Naruto and Will silently watch as now Sparrow steps onto the seal. However just as soon as she is on it, the seal begins to glow with a bright white light, sparks of light floating upwards and surrounding both Rose and Sparrow.

"What's that?" Rose questioned with unease clear in her voice and Naruto reached back, pulling The Blade of Plun-Darr free and unlocking the machete like blades from it.

"Nothing to worry about." Lucien quickly assures as he walks towards the girls and then looks all around the circle, examining it for some reason. "It's true, your blood... you AREheroes!" Lucien mumbles to himself with a clear bit of awe in his voice, Rose scrunching her nose up and looking at him like he's crazy.

"Heroes? You mean like from the old stories?" She questioned incredulously of the man and Lucien merely chuckles lightly in his throat while reaching his hand forward. However as he does he grimaces in pain as lightning shocks him from the glowing circle around the two girls. Bringing his hand back to cradle it quickly the man looks at them with fear in his eyes as the circle suddenly turned a bright burning red.

"What ARE you?" He wonders to himself while making his way to the side where Will and Naruto can't see him.

"My Lord, what happened? What's that light?" Rose questions of the man worriedly and Naruto looks to Will, the other boy nodding his head as they both drop down to stand on a slim ledge in front of the stained glass window.

"Quiet! You're heroes but you're not any of the three… one of you is the forth, but the other…" The man shouts out at Rose at first before muttering under his breath while Rose recoils back from the shouting. However a mere second later, Naruto sees a silhouette of Lucien in the window with a pistol's silhouette in his hand, his eyes narrowing and briefly turning red when he did.

"That's good enough for me! C'mon Will, NOW!" Naruto shouts as Will forms a Force-Push spell shattering the window as they both lunge into the room, both landing in front of the girls as Lucien recoils back as the two land in front of the girls.

"What is this? Who are they?" He wonders to himself only to quickly evade as Naruto lunged at him, swinging his blade and sending a bolt of lightning singing through the air. Backpedaling from the blond haired youth, Lucien looked at him warily before realization struck him. "You… you two are both… both heroes as well!" He declared while Naruto scoffed, Rose looking at Naruto and Will before shivering as neither boy looked anything like the heroes she'd heard of.

"Wait, you think they are heroes?" Rose questioned and Will briefly winced before shaking his head as Naruto ignored her and pointed the tip of his blade towards Lucien with a deep frown hidden behind his mask.

"First of all pal, I'm no hero, I hate that word it makes me sick to my stomach…" Naruto growled out while bringing his hand up and made a clawing motion over his face, The Prince of Blades mask forming as soon as he did. **"I'm both the Prince of Blades, AND The One True Overlord!"** The blond uttered with a mocking bow, his now burning crimson red eyes locked onto Lucien's face. The man quickly aimed his gun towards Naruto and the blond couldn't help an amused chuckle. **"Oh please… you really think that little thing will hurt me?"** Naruto questioned darkly, slowly approaching Lucien and the man steeled himself and stared into the youth's eyes.

"I wasn't aiming at you…" Lucien noted calmly and pulled the trigger, Naruto quickly turning in time to see Rose fall back while Will turned with wide eyes. The young mage tried to get to the girl however the barrier around them threw the boy back into a bookcase while Naruto grabbed Lucien and held his sword at his throat with a snarl. "If you waste time trying to kill me… the girl will die… and something tells me you don't want that." Lucien gritted while grasping the blond's wrist as Naruto gritted his teeth into a snarl while glaring into the man's eyes.

"You had best hurry… when the seal was activated… it was done so by the girls own Will… it won't go down unless you know the proper method… or one of the girls dies…" Lucien stated and Naruto felt his eye twitch while slowly pressing the blade into the man's neck, just enough to actually draw a thin line of blood which slowly started to travel down his neck. "The papers on the desk have the proper method of deactivating the circle…" Lucien stated, Naruto glancing over to the desk, and then back at where Rose was lying on the ground her eyes still open but growing glassy. "If you don't hurry you won't be able to save her… it's my life… or hers…" Lucien stated firmly, never breaking eye contact, never glancing away and Naruto growled furiously before throwing the man to the side and rushing over to the desk.

However just as soon as he did, Naruto heard a gun cock and turned around to see Lucien aiming his weapon at Sparrow. "I won't let anything stand in my way…" Lucien muttered as he fired a second time, Naruto turning in time to see Sparrow knocked back and through the stained glass window, and into the cold night. Eyes wide, Naruto then snarled as he turned back to where Lucian had been, however the man was gone. Biting back a scream of fury, Naruto lunged to where Rose was laying and picked her up; he then checked and found a weak pulse. _**'I have to hurry… she can't hold on much longer.'**_ Naruto decided while walking to the window, Will groaning as he came too, looked around, and then rushed over to the blond.

Meanwhile Naruto gazed down at the streets below and saw Theresa picking up Sparrow, the little girl bleeding while a familiar dog stood at the blind woman's side. Narrowing his eyes, Naruto watched Theresa seemingly vanish in a flash and frowned deeply as a thought came to mind. _**'Never trust family…'**_ The blond thought before unfurling his wings and jumping into the night air, Will following behind him and flying with a use of force push. _**'Shin, get a medical team ready, I'm bringing someone back, she took one of those bullet things to the chest so I don't know how much time she has so hurry up!'**_ Naruto ordered as he jumped from roof to roof and used his wings to span greater distances than he normally could.

_[Of course, sire, I shall alert Doc and the medics at once!]_ Shin assured while Naruto mentally thanked the grey and concentrated on getting the hell out of Albion with the girl in his arms still hopefully remaining alive. Looking down at her, Naruto saw her eyes gaze into his own eyes and couldn't help but feel a sense of irony when he realized. _**'Looks like you get your wish Rose, to live in a castle… Castle Plun-Darr…'**_ Naruto thought to himself while lunging further into the night with Will moving close behind…

(?)

Haruno Ayane slowly crept through the darkened streets of Konoha with a lantern in one hand and a bag filled with supplies thrown over her shoulder. The night was cloudy and dark, not even the moon shining its rays down upon her. This was fine with her, she wasn't really too big of a fan of the sun, as if her pale skin wasn't enough of a giveaway to that. Looking to the sky, Ayane stopped and noticed the moon peeking out from behind the clouds for only a moment, and saw that it was a deep blood red color, unusual even for one such as her. _'Something ominous is in the air.'_ The magenta haired girl thought to herself while making her way to the house with 777 carved into its front door once more, silently slipping between the two homes before it and then walking up to the homes front door.

Opening the door and walking inside, the magenta haired girl felt a strange chill crawl up her spine. Foxx was unusually silent, after what felt like years of it talking at random, this silence unnerved her greatly. However, the magenta haired girl continued to walk forward and journeyed deeper into the strangely silent home, not a sound to be heard, not even the sounds of rats or other vermin, it was silent as the grave, much like it had been before, and yet… "Something's not right here." She decided with a frown and walked further into the old home, her eyes open and alert, not a shadow moving around her without her spotting it…

"_**Hello little one, to what do I owe this intrusion?"**_ A voice echoed out tonelessly from all around, an empty hollow voice that belonged to no man or woman or beast.

"So this place is yours huh? I don't see your name anywhere…" Ayane noted aloud, her eyes shifting to and fro in search of who had uttered that strange voice.

"_**Your voice is calm, yet I can sense your unease little one…"**_ The voice came once more and Ayane silently walked forward, through the strange home with a deep frown across her face.

"Unease is a common emotion when one is faced with the unknown…" The magenta haired lass noted while looking all around and heard the voice emit a slight chuckle in response.

"_**The same could be said of fear…"**_ It noted and the girl scoffed before crossing her arms over her chest with a slight scowl.

"I don't do fear." She replied flatly before walking forward into the darkness and approached the door to the basement.

"_**Really? Are you so sure that you know yourself so well? Are you so arrogant as to believe that you are above others, beyond fear? Such utter foolishness little mortal, pure and utter foolishness."**_ The strange voice questioned and the young girl noticed it was taking on a strange tone. The magenta haired girl narrowed her eyes while pushing open the door to the basement. Her lantern was lit and she could now see, yet the apprehension that had been haunting her since entering the strange home now seemed to grow more and more.

"Really… so then are you not a mortal?" She questioned curiously of the voice while walking down the steps, her footfalls echoing and the old boards creaking loudly as she made her way down.

"_**And if I weren't a mortal… what would you do then?"**_ The voice questioned of the magenta haired girl and she rolled her eyes, opening a door and stopping to gaze at what looked like a menagerie of knives and swords… also what looked like hooks, scythes, axes, and a whole armories worth of weaponry…

"I'd ask if this was really your home, cause I think only a Homicidal Maniac would live in a place like this." Ayane replied while closing the door and moving on to the next one, which had a basic interrogation room within, a large light hanging from the ceiling and a chair with manacles and bindings in the center of it.

"_**I admit that this is not my home, nor would I wish it to be, the being who once dwelled here was no mere mortal however… he was something of a King, a King of Killers maybe, but still a king."**_ The voice responded while Ayane moved on to the next room and found an enormous meat-grinder of some kind and briefly hummed as she thought of kicking Konohamaru into the thing…

"Really, then how long have you been here then?" Ayane questioned more for idle conversations sake than anything and was silent as the voice contemplated on how to answer her for a few moments.

"_**A while I think, time seems to leave me in a daze really, and I'm never quite able to keep track of it…"**_ The voice responded once more and the magenta haired girl stopped and entered another room, finding what looked like some kind of contraption with needles and tubes and all manner of twisted apparatus…

"I see…" The magenta haired girl noted aloud while approaching the final door and pushed it open to see a discolored wall that had turned a yellow color with cracks strewn throughout it… "A wall?" The Magenta haired lass mumbled while approaching the wall, and then frowned as she could swear she saw it move… maybe even breathe… "Freaky." She mumbled and felt a sudden rumble from all around her, the rumble then ceased and the voice from before returned.

"_**He used to feed that wall, cover it in blood to keep the bad things in; too bad he was unsuccessful in that little endeavor. He lost his mind, and eventually, the thing in the wall finally broke free…"**_ The voice mused aloud and Ayane looked at the wall with a frown before rolling her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest.

"I don't believe in that kind of nonsense, I'll stick to what I do believe in and leave insanity like that to my sister and that annoying little Goblin, Zim." The girl retorted and the voice seemed to remain silent for a moment, before the shadows all seemed to twist and writhe around her.

"_**A Goblin named Zim, eh? And you have that personality and know him… He he heh… I guess what they say is true, history really does repeat itself."**_ The voice mused before going completely silent, Ayane rolling her eyes and turning on her heel.

"Whatever just don't bug me while I work and we'll be just fine crazy voice." The girl stated flippantly while walking out of the room, the wall suddenly bulging as twisting tentacles and eerie eyes peered out of the cracks formed in it. These things seemed to watch the girl leave before slipping back into the cracks in the wall, leaving none privy to their presense…

TBC…

AN: I am really sorry for not getting this out sooner! Seriously! I was working on it, but then my job kept calling me in, the holidays came, I had to get used to my new laptop, got some new games… and well… a bunch of stuff just kept me from finishing this chapter. Anyways, regardless, I would like to say thank you to everyone who patiently awaited this chapter, and I feel I should mention that I've added several pictures to my Deviant-Art page, some are from this story, others are from other stories including Red-X Rising. You can go directly to my Deviant-Art page by clicking the Homepage on my profile. Anyways, please read and review, and until next-time, ciao!


	17. Duergar Pt1

**Disclaimer**: I own anything within; this story is merely a way for me to alleviate boredom…

[Gnarl: We have returned from the Abyss!

Giblet: Whoopie!

Doc: Oh I do hate it when the Master is gone for so long…

Shin: Aye, the Void is so inhospitable this time of year.

Espio: Least we're back now.

Jester: Oh oh oh! What if we're only dreaming!

Lord-Pain: Shut up and start the fic already!

Slash: At once sssire!]

_Companions_:

**Zim**: Inactive

**Tak**: Inactive

**Tora**: Inactive

**Grunge**: Inactive

**Manasa**: Inactive

**Slythe**: Inactive

**Panthro**: Inactive

**Azula**: Inactive

**Will**: Inactive

_Horde Size_: 0

_Active Minions in Horde_: 0

_Other_: 5 Primary Grays, 5 Primary Browns, 5 Primary Greens

_**NU**_: _**Dark Lord**_ +

_**Chapter 16**_: _**Duergar Pt. 1**_…

"Normal Speech"…

'_Normal Thoughts_'…

[Radio/Tower Heart In Use]…

"**Jutsu In Use**"…

"**Demon Speech**"…

'_**Demon Thoughts**_'…

"_**Inner Spirit Speech**_"…

(Underworld…)

Several of the minions are stumbling about, working on repairing minor damages to Castle-Plun-Darr which were incurred during the party earlier. Idly waiting by the Tower-Heart for their master to return and smoking a pipe, and puffing out smoke idly while he did so. Close by and waiting alongside the oldest minion, Doc stood with Manasa and some Lizard-Women, waiting to heal the girl Naruto was bringing to them. Not soon after he somehow managed to shoot an arrow of smoke from his lips through a cloud, chuckling under his breath as he did, a flash and shower of sparks revealed Naruto who slid forward with Rose in his hands and Will hot on his heels. Coming to a stop, Naruto looked around and ran over to Doc, the grey immediately motioning Naruto to kneel down.

"Alright Master, we'll take it from here." Doc stated while nudging to Rose and a Lizard-Woman picked her up and carried her away with them. "Manasa, use your health spells to keep her alive, however don't close the wound yet as I want to get the bullet used on her out first, we'll also give her a full checkup since I highly doubt living on the streets has been good for her health." Doc stated with a nod of his head as the group made their way to the medical wing of the castle, Will following close behind them with worry in his gaze. As they left, Naruto let out a slight breath and reached up to palm his face, muttering in annoyance as he did so and then turning on his toes and heading to his throne to rest.

'_Thankfully Doc can take care of Rose… I'm too mentally exhausted to help even if they wanted me to…'_ Naruto thought to himself before sitting down deeply on his throne, then opened a single eye and glared at Gnarl. "What do you want Gnarl? I'm very tired…" Naruto grumbled with a slight glare and mentally frowned at the grin the old minion master was now sporting. It was pretty obvious why that was too, Naruto had just been annoyed, which meant he was becoming more aggressive, which meant a larger chance for death destruction and mayhem to ensue soon enough…

"Forgive me sire but I wished to make a slight inquiry into your… decision not to kill that Lucien fellow earlier." Gnarl replied and Naruto groaned slightly before leaning back and thinking for a moment, deigning it too troublesome not to answer the Minion-Master. "I mean really master, it would've taken you all of two seconds to kill the fool, and then you could've freed both girls so that blaster Theresa wouldn't get one of them… I mean even if she is your ancestor, you should never trust family, it always leads to trouble… well most of the time." Gnarl questioned of the blond and Naruto was silent for several moments, eyes closed and body surprisingly still.

"It's simple actually… that sigil, I had no idea how it worked or how to get the girls out… my only option would be to study the research that Lucien collected which could have potentially taken longer to do than I had. Not only that but there was a possibility of a trap set up to kill both girls if I killed Lucien, given how long it must've taken him to rig all that up I doubt he wouldn't have considered the possibility, no matter how slim, that someone might've tried to stop him." Naruto replied while Gnarl blinked several times, wondering how he'd come up with a way to kill the girls if he was killed himself, though admitted that such things DID exist… they just weren't used very often for some reason.

"Master, why would you suspect he'd do such a thing?" Gnarl asked curiously, mostly because his master was seemingly light aligned and so often looked for the best in people, not the worst. Naruto opened a single eye to glare at the Minion Master at his question, his glowing blue eyes looming ominously in the shadows of his hood. Truth be told, Naruto had an idea that if he wanted too, and he meant _**really**_ wanted too… he'd do the same thing as a precaution.

"Gnarl, shut up or I'll skin you and pour salt on the wounds…" Naruto growled out, the aging Minion-Master grinning widely before bowing slightly at the waist as the young Overlord closed his eyes. As he did, Gnarl let out a light chuckle while watching his master, he didn't need to be linked to him mentally to know what his thoughts had been… and he couldn't be any happier about them if he tried.

"As you wish master… as you wish." The aged Minion-Master said with a bow while turning and making his way out of the throne-room, Naruto silently allowing himself to fall to sleep…

(Goblin-Caves…)

Sasuke and Hinata slowly approached a familiar ledge and gazed down into the caverns where a plethora of Goblins moved to and fro. Some of them were working on machines while others were still mining out the gold and gems within their territory, though thankfully they were moving at a significantly slower pace than they had when Red and Purple were in charge. Widening her eyes, Hinata shifted uncomfortably while Sasuke stared in a mix of shock and surprise at what he was now seeing. "Amanojaku… they're real?" The dark haired Uchiha questioned in surprise at what he was seeing, Hinata making a small sound like something a mouse might let out. "C'mon…" Sasuke suddenly stated while grabbing Hinata's wrist and sliding down towards the floor of the caves, Hinata squeaking as she followed.

Sasuke looked on in a mix of wonder and awe as the Goblins were hard at work, on jumping up and down on an enormous bellows. The Bellows was helping generate heat for a large forge where a burly looking Goblin slammed a hammer into some metal, finishing a sword soon after and then grinning as he used it to cut a scar into his face, testing the blade before nodding and throwing the sword into a large trolley. The trolley was filled with more swords and armor and other such equipment, Sasuke widening his eyes in disbelief at the size of the trolley and the amount of equipment that was being produced. _'They have more than enough for an entire army.'_ He thought to himself while Hinata continued to look around in a mix of awe and wonder.

She soon spotted where several Goblins were working on strange machines, one Goblin giggling like a madman as he was electrocuted by a pair of wires he was holding. The Goblin fell over for a moment, his coworkers passing him by, before the goblin shot back up with a psychotic laugh and started to fix the wires, unfazed by what just happened to him. Looking further, Hinata spotted a female of unusual height in blue garb; she had her eyes closed as she calmly walked across the way, only for a male to jump at her from above. Rather than turn she seemed to open a single eye that gave off an unearthly blue glow, a shot of ice forming upwards behind her and encasing the male completely in its cold grasp. Hinata gasped at how effortlessly she did it, while several of the male Goblins laughed loudly at the fallen one, and then went back to work.

"W-What are these th-things? Th-They l-look like Amanoj-jaku…" Hinata mumbled under her breath while looking around warily, Sasuke humming lightly as he scanned around the strange beings with a frown. _'Whatever they are, they're certainly industrious little bastards…'_ Sasuke noted mostly to himself as they seemed to have a very clear niche in machines, however then watched the female as she jumped up and landed on the trolley, looking at the equipment in it for a moment before looking to the blacksmith.

"Have you remembered to make gear for the Orcs, Naga, and Lizardmen as well?" She questioned and the smith started to chuckle darkly, his mouth twisted into an enormous grin. However both Sasuke and Hinata felt their brows twitch, as they couldn't understand a word that the strange creatures were saying, appearing more like gibberish to their ears than anything else.

"Aye mah' Tallest, A' got me students working on de' armor below!" The smith replied with that unearthly grin never leaving his features while the woman, Miyuki, rubbed her chin with a thoughtful frown. "Is the Overlord be needing dem soon?" He asked and Miyuki hummed while giving him a look, Sasuke frowning as he understood the word Overlord for some reason, but couldn't place why it sounded important.

"No, I wanted to make certain we were on schedule." Miyuki replied rather curtly and the smith just scratched at his head for a moment with a wide grin on his face, the Tallest jumping from her perch afterwards. "Carry on, I'll head to Castle-Plun-Darr and report to his lordship." She stated while making her way from the smith who saluted as she left, his hand connecting to his face with enough force to nearly knock him back on his ass. The Goblin smith then laughed for a moment before returning to his smithing, Sasuke and Hinata wondering what just happened and what the strange green beings spoke off.

Meanwhile, Sylvanas felt a mix of shock and worry form at seeing the massive Goblin Caverns filled to the brim with not only Goblins but also their machines. _'But… they are different from the ones in Azeroth… they almost seem more uniform and militant… strange, how are these Goblins different from those of my home?'_ Sylvanas wondered to herself while idly keeping Sasuke and Hinata in her sights as they crept through the Goblins Lair and towards a large cave where they could hopefully escape. _'Regardless, I am not here for them, I am here to find my son, and I had best look after those two as well, no telling what kind of trouble they'll waken if I don't…'_ The Dark Lady decided with a frown before lunging down into the Goblin Lair, avoiding detection and then moving after Sasuke and Hinata hurriedly…

(?)

_Naruto found himself silently walking through a forest, the trees set ablaze and in the distance, he could see a vast battlefield. _'Where am I?' _The young Overlord questioned before looking down at himself and raising a brow, his armor looked… different, he wasn't sure how, but it appeared darker in color and lighter in weight, his cloak was purple, and he had strange new Overlord-Bracelets on either wrist. _'When did I change my clothes?'_ The Overlord wondered before then noting his increased height and muscle mass as well. _'There is no way I grew this much overnight…'_ He inwardly decided, as while he wasn't exactly ripped now, his body was built for speed and power on equal fronts._

_Idly enjoying the change of his physique, the Overlord then marched forward silently, towards the vast battlefield he'd seen before. Walking passed the last burning tree he wandered onto the battlefield and then widened his eyes. In the distance was an enormous Tower, spikes flowed off of it in a decidedly wicked fashion, and somewhere in the back of his mind Naruto knew just what this place was… _'The Dark Tower…'_ He noted inwardly while silently gazing at the home of many of his ancestors, restored to its former glory and standing ominously against the horizon. Shaking his head of those thoughts the blond then looked around the vast battle-field and noted it completely circled around the dark-tower._

'Is it possible that a fire was set and the enemies killed by that?'_ The Overlord wondered to himself while slowly walking across the battlefield. _'More like a graveyard really…'_ Naruto inwardly corrected with a slight shiver, the bones of hundreds of people resting in this barren place. _'I wonder… is this the future?' _The Overlord wondered inwardly while looking all around with a curious expression under his mask. He vaguely remembered that Theresa was a seer of some kind, and she was also his ancestor, so the Overlord wondered if perhaps he'd inherited her abilities of foresight. If so, the young Overlord wondered why he was seeing this, and what significance it would have for his future._

_In his mind, what led to the forming of the enormous graveyard would be a much more suitable vision of the future. If he knew what was going to cause it, then perhaps he'd be able to plan a way to stop it. _'Then again, from what little I know visions come sporadically without learning the finer points to seeing the future… and even then they aren't always correct.'_ Naruto mused inwardly, deciding not to question his vision and instead continued to make his way through the vast graveyard, before stopping at a sound. Blinking for a moment, the Overlord made his way towards the sound and saw someone digging up an actual grave, which caused the Overlord to let out a low growl in anger._

_Being raised by Sylvanas, a Zombie of sorts, gave him a unique perspective when it came to the dead, and it also meant he did not appreciate grave robbers… _'Whoever you are, you're going to pay for this…'_ Naruto decided with a low growl in his throat as he marched towards the grave, only to slow as he watched a girl exit from it, her hair white as snow, eyes glowing bright green, and dressed in strange armor with a crown of sorts on her head. As Naruto approached the girl he saw her look to him, but before the vision could continue a voice and noise tore him from his dream / vision and back to reality…_

(Castle Plun-Darr…)

Naruto hated only one thing about his ears, much like an elf, he could hear things that normal people couldn't. Which included the sound of Gnarl's clawed feet raking across the stone floor while the heavy thuds of an armored warrior echoed alongside him. As a result of thus racket, Naruto was finding it harder and harder to actually sleep, and so opened one glowing blue eye to see Gnarl approaching him with a strange being. The being had dark grey skin with a white braided beard and hair and red spiny quill like objects poking from his beard, eyebrows, and hair, his body type was short and stocky like a typical dwarf, with a bulbous nose to match, and he was dressed in black and silver chainmail armor with a helmet and an ax on his back over an old green elven cloak of some kind.

The blond then winced and glanced to his knees, where a pair of spurs had apparently grown while he was sleeping, and torn through his pants to poke out. _'My dragon's blood is really trying my patience; I miss my old body… though I wonder if there's a way to change back to my human form?'_ The blond overlord in training inwardly wondered before glancing back to where Gnarl and the Dwarf were. Currently it seemed that his minion-Master either didn't know or wasn't aware of his keen hearing, and so was arguing with the strange dwarf like being. The Dwarf also lived up to his appearance as he argued back like a stubborn mule, Naruto idly hoping the two would tire themselves out and shut up so he could get back to sleep. Sadly, they did not and so he was forced to listen to them argue and argue for the length of time it took them to actually reach his throne from the other side of the room…

"I'm telling you Gimli, this is not a matter you can rush into halfcocked like you normally would, our master's life is far more important than a single city!" Gnarl declared while glaring up at the dwarf who let out a bwah like sound and huffed.

"Iff'n he be a real Overlord he'll 'elp rescue mah city, mah people canna' take much more liven in dah caves, d're tired and filthy and our 'ome is being controlled by those blasted Drow! Besides, most a dah women-folk still be trapped in there with those bloody Drow bastards…" Gimli grumbled angrily while Gnarl muttered something to himself before looking up to see an annoyed Naruto giving him a one-eyed glare.

"Uh… good morning Sire." Gnarl offered with a nervous grin, Gimli looking to the young Overlord with his arms crossed while Naruto loosened the muscles in his neck before leaning forward to look down at his Minion-Master.

"Gnarl… are you aware that my ears do more than simply frame my face?" Naruto questioned while forming a ball of fire into left his hand and throwing it up and down, his right reaching up to peel back his hood and show one of his elven like ears. Gnarl had the decency to look sheepish when he noticed them, and realized Naruto probably had heightened hearing, thus made a note to get some carpeting for the throne room in the future.

"Um, I'm sorry Sire; I had no idea how acute your hearing would be, I'll see to it that it's rectified quickly." Gnarl said in a placating tone while bowing deeply, Gimli scoffing and crossing his arms over his chest, bringing the young Overlord's eyes to rest upon him for a moment, before narrowing his eyes.

"Good. But how's Rose doing?" Naruto questioned of the Old-Minion-Master while leaning forward, Gnarl humming as he rubbed his goatee in thought.

"Last I checked Doc said he and Manasa managed to stabilize the girl, however she's very weak from her ordeal and in need of bed-rest. Will isn't much better as he seems to be mentally exhausted from worrying about the girl, and has been confined to bedrest." Gnarl explained with a wave of a claw, Naruto exhaling through his nose and leaning back in his throne. "Would you have any particular orders to deal with the young Archon, Sire?" Gnarl then questioned and Naruto opened a single eye to look at him before answering.

"See to it that when she finally wakes up that she gets out of those rags and into some good clothes, also, find her a nice room and get her something to eat." Naruto ordered with a slight wave of his hand, finding it slightly easier to give out orders, which made him wonder if perhaps the King of Blades gave him more than the title; Prince of Blades… Shaking that thought from his mind, the young Overlord in training then looked to a scowling Gimli with a slight hum. "And now that that is out of the way, just who is this?" Naruto questioned of either Gnarl or Gimli himself, the Minion-Master moving to explain, only for the Dark Dwarf to walk forward instead.

"Me name be Gimli, Ah'm de' leader a da Duergar, or Grey-Dwarves as we're also known. Mah people are to Dwarves what Drow be to High-Elves." Gimli explained and Naruto let out a light hum, having never even imagined that Evil-Dwarves existed. _'Then again, I suppose with Evil-Elves around, Evil-Dwarves wouldn't be so unusual…'_ The young Overlord in training inwardly decided before motioning for Gimli to continue. "Ah be here cause mah peoples city was taken by the bloody Drow! They invaded us not but a month ago, chased me and mah men out and then locked the gates behind us!" Gimli explained and Naruto frowned as something seemed wrong with that, inwardly wondering why the Drow would attack the Duergar.

"Gnarl, is this kind of behavior normal for the Drow?" Naruto questioned while glancing to his advisor, the aging Minion-Master clicking his tongue with a deep frown.

"No sire, it is not… I mean yes they do typically attack anyone but this is an unprovoked siege and not only that but a war with the Duergar would lead to war with some of the other Dark-Races which the Drow cannot afford with their limited numbers…" Gnarl replied while rubbing his chin, Gimli letting out a grunt at the twisted little minions words.

"Dat be only half ah da problem, biggest worries is dat dey sent a bloody priestess in wit' 'em and she even be a high-born!" Gimli added to the list of reasons to worry about the Drow, Gnarl visibly grimacing at that tidbit while Naruto raised a brow.

"How is a high-born priestess dangerous?" Naruto questioned of his advisor while scratching his head through his hood, having limited knowledge of the Drow since Gnarl never bothered explaining all the finer details unless asked. _'I really need to find some time to study on all the races at some point, otherwise I'm just going to keep having one surprise after the other…'_ The blond haired youth noted to himself inwardly, while Gnarl started to pace with a deep scowl across his withered face.

"A High-Born of any species is comparable to royalty, you're a high-born Dragonkin sire, hence your intelligence compared to a normal Dragonkin is far greater. However, there are also more than a few minor differences depending on the species itself. High-born Drow for instance have access to extremely dangerous spells, one of which even allows to them to float…" Gnarl explained with a deep scowl, Naruto blinking as no one had ever really bothered mentioning he was a high-born Dragonkin, sure he vaguely remembered someone mentioning it before, but it wasn't something he really paid too much attention too at the time.

"So you're saying she's more dangerous than a normal Drow… is that all?" Naruto questioned of his advisor and Gnarl nodded his head, seeing as that was the basics of the problem.

"More or less, though you don't seem to truly comprehend just how dangerous she is compared to a normal Drow Sorceress." Gnarl mumbled while rubbing his skull, Gimli grumbling lowly before stomping forward with a growl.

"We don' be havin' time ter be playin' around! We should be gettin' together a troop of soldiers and taken back me city!" Gimli nearly shouted out, Naruto frowning as he wondered if this was how all Dwarves acted. "An' me gold!" Gimli then added as more an afterthought, Naruto palming his face as the greed thing seemed to be universal when it came to Dwarves, at least from what he'd learned from Sylvanas.

"It isn't that simple you bloody fool!" Gnarl snarled out before pacing in place with a deep scowl across his face. "Not only have they taken your city, they have have been even more active than I originally anticipated… first they have contact with Red and Purple of the Goblins, then they burry a Mammoth Ant Queen under the Orcs…" Gnarl grumbled with a frown while pacing around, Naruto frowning deeply as it seemed that the Drow had their hands in many of the misfortunes in the Underworld. However that thought made the blond wonder if perhaps the Drow had also had something to do with Viathen cutting ties with the Naga, or perhaps if they had been aiding the Mind-Flayer which had been controlling him… either way, the Drow were quite clearly an enemy.

"Gnarl, could the Drow have had something to do with that Mind-Flayer and Viathen?" Naruto questioned and Gimli blinked for only a moment before snarling darkly.

"A Mind-Flayer… dey be ol' allies of da Drow… an' ol' enemies of da Duergar!" Gimli noted with a snarl, his left eye twitching violently, Naruto glancing to Gnarl for an explanation.

"Uh… the Duergar started off as normal Dwarves sire, an entire clan of them, but… the Mind-Flayers sort of captured them, and then experimented on them for generations, desperate for freedom the Duergar sought out aide from anything, and the Daedric lord Boethiah heard their call, in exchange for aiding them, the Duergar had to take up the worship of her. They agreed and after years of her helping them slowly win their freedom, the Duergar mated with Daedra, hence their current appearance, at which point they were all but immune to the Mind-Flayer's powers and finally won back their freedom." Gnarl explained though kept the Duergar in his line of sight since they were a rather dark and brooding race because of their captivity… with Gimli the only exception to that rule.

"Boethiah? Who's Boethiah?" Naruto questioned with a raised brow, making another inner note to talk to Shin about getting a book or something that could collect information about certain things so he could look it over at his leisure.

"She's a Daedric Lord like Sheogorath, she is to the Duegar what Sheogorath is to the Naga, Hircine is to Werewolves, or Sanguine is to Fauns." Gnarl replied and Naruto seemed even more lost than he had before, getting that Daedric Lords were evil Gods or something of the like, but had no idea what these other species were. "Ugh… she's a Daedric Lord whose circle presides over Treachery, her belief is that only the strong will survive and the weak will die, she favors those with great strength and the Duegar are known to worship her above all others." Gnarl explained to the young Overlord, Naruto slowly nodding his head in understanding before looking back to Gimli.

"Okay… but Gimli, no offence, but you don't act too much like what I'd expect from a servant of this Boethiah chick." Naruto noted and Gimli rolled his brown eyes, an oddity given most of his species had pure white eyes, and then leaned forward with a grin.

"I'm half-Dwarf lad, me father was from Thedas an got lost at sea, me mum found the git when he was floating down in de river of our caves. The bloody moron apparently thought he could sail a ship on his own and got lost at sea 'fore landing here in our lands." Gimli explained with an amused grin, Naruto wondering why that was so amusing. However before he could even ask about it, Gnarl grinned so widely Naruto briefly wondered if the old Minion-Master might break his face in half.

"Your father was from Thedas? Would you happen to have an item or relic from there?" Gnarl questioned and Gimli slowly nodded his head with a confused look mirrored by Naruto.

"Aye… an I suppose ye could 'alve it if'n ye be helping me save mah city…" Gimli responded and Gnarl started to wring his hands together with a grin.

"Oh that is a small price to pay for a relic from Thedas, especially if Mistress Flemeth is still running about…" Gnarl noted with an amused chuckle, Naruto mentally groaning as that sounded like yet another grandmother was around, and made him wonder why it seemed like only the Mistresses ever survived attacks by heroes…

"Oi, ye can have da trinket but only if'n ye be helping me get mah city, an' ma gold, back from the bloody Drow!" Gimli all but shouted at Gnarl who nodded his head with a wicked grin still plastered across his face.

"Yes, yes, certainly Gimli, I'm sure the master would be all too happy to help…" Gnarl responded before looking to Naruto, the young Overlord in Training silently raising a brow. "Right sire?" The minion master questioned hopefully and Naruto mentally rolled his eyes before reaching up to rub his chin.

"The Drow have continually made it difficult for all of us here in the underworld… Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, but three times is enemy action. I think it's about time we dealt them a serious blow, so I'm in." Naruto suddenly noted aloud and Gnarl nodded his head in full agreement with his young master, and then looked back to Gimli.

"Gimli, are your warriors capable of marching into their city to take it back?" Gnarl questioned and Gimli scoffed for a moment before he then started to truly think about it and shook his head with a deep scowl on his face.

"Nay, we been out in the cold too long, I barely been holding together meself, I'd ask ye let them rest 'ere, I'll go wit' the Overlord meself if ah must! But I won't leave mah city in the hands of those bloody Drow!" Gimli declared and yet Gnarl rolled his eyes before glancing at Naruto and then chuckled darkly.

"Unnecessary Gimli, I'm quite certain we have at least one warrior who could accompany you." Gnarl noted while considering who they had as allies to send with Naruto on this potentially dangerous mission.

"Gnarl, before you make any battle plans I would like some new armor, preferably something a little lighter and a bit darker than this so I'll be able to sneak around. Given where I'm going that seems better than just walking up to the gates and getting my ass fried with a fire-spell…" Naruto noted and Gnarl nodded his head, then turned and made his way out of the room, the young Overlord getting up and following after him with Gimli following soon after…

(Konoha…)

Haruno Sakura trudged home feeling like she was wearing several tons of lead weights even though she hadn't really exercised all day. Truth be told, she felt like this more and more every day and the days seemed to be getting longer. It also didn't hurt that for the past few days she'd been unable to get much sleep, if any at all. The lack of sleep was a result of two things. The first, guilt, sometimes she'd have nightmares that all seemed to say Naruto's death was somehow her fault. The other, worry, her sister Ayane had actually found a place for her puppets, so now she worried about where she was almost all day. Sakura wasn't good with dealing with either problem, and she briefly considered seeking psychiatric help, but was against the idea.

It wasn't because of Sasuke either, she figured he needed to see a psychiatrist for his own trauma after all, but because the only psychiatrist she knew or trusted, was also Yamanaka Ino's father. And she and Ino had not been getting along for a very long while, and Sakura didn't find the idea of asking the blond's father for help all too appealing. Not that she didn't trust Ino or her father, but it just didn't feel like something she should do for some reason. As a result, the pinkette found herself walking into her home, yawning slightly before raising a brow as her father walked passed her, reading a new file and munching on a piece of toast hanging from between his teeth.

"Hello honey, don't forget to brush your teeth…" The negligent father stated dismissively while walking out of the home and closing the door behind him, Sakura staring at his back with a flat expression. This happened often, her father would try and give her some kind of advice or parental cliché, however he often just said it and then went off to continue with his oh so precious research…

"It's times like this I wonder if I'd rather be an orphan…" The pinkette mumbled before her hand came up out of nowhere and she slapped herself, blinking for a moment after she did. Looking at her hand in confusion, Sakura wondered why she had slapped herself, then physically grimaced upon remembering that Naruto was an orphan. Twitching slightly, the pinkette palmed her face and made her way up the stairs and towards her room, her mind already bringing up scathing remarks about the orphan thing. "Great work dad, I try not to think about him for a little bit and now I can't get him off my mind…" Sakura muttered to herself, her Inner Sakura wasn't the one berating her either, she could handle that, but now it was like a little parasite was in her head feeding her twisted evil words to make her feel worse and worse about how she had treated the blond haired boy.

Muttering incoherently under her breath, Sakura kicked her door open, actually breaking the lock on her door and causing her to gape. Fuming, the girl then tossed her book-bag to the side, only to palm her face as it connected with her lamp and knocked it to the floor, thus shattering it. Growling low in her throat, the girl the stomped out of the room to a closet to fetch a broom and dust pan, however she found that the broom was broken. _'What the hell is up with my luck today! Is Karma out to get me or what?'_ The pinkette mentally demanded while tossing the broken broom back into the closet and stalking out with a scowl. Stomping back up the stairs to her room, a doll laying on one of the stairs caught her by surprise as she nealy fell back, and only just managed to catch the railings before she would've broken her neck…

'_Yes, I think that Karma wants my head on a silver platter…'_ Sakura thought with a pitiable expression before pulling herself back up and slowly walked up the stairs. Glancing at the doll she tripped over, Sakura twitched violently as it was a stuffed bunny, a bunny rabbit that belonged to Ayane which she probably dropped on her way out with the others. Approaching the doll as if it would come to life, which it may with her sister's stuff, Sakura carefully reached for the doll and picked it up before looking it over. "Doesn't seem broken…" She mumbled to herself before walking up the stairs, a frown on her face as she let out a breath. "I swear to Kami-Sama, my day can't possibly get any worse!" The pinkette declared, only for Murphy's Law to take effect as there was a crash from Ayane's room…

The sound caused Sakura to let out a sound that was like a cross between a groan and a high pitched whine, then slump while making her way to her sisters room. _'I had to go and invoke Fate's wrath didn't I, I just couldn't leave well enough alone… nooooo…'_ The girl inwardly chastised herself while approaching her sister's room, only to stop suddenly as the door was sent flying across the hall before embedding itself into the wall. Blinking several times, Sakura then slowly walked into the room and gaped at the sight before her. Currently tearing the room, which was sparsely furnished, apart was a green skinned being with red eyes and black hair dressed in an odd outfit and somehow standing on four spider-legs jutting out of its back…

"Is it here? No, then it must be here!" The strange being stated while moving from a desk and then went to the roof, two of its spider legs unfolding a pair of buzz saws. The creature used the said buzz-saws to then cut into the ceiling, leaving Sakura stunned speechless and gaping, before prying open the ceiling to look around. "Hmm… nice attic but not what I was looking for…" Zim noted to himself while tossing the pieces of wood to the side and falling to the ground where he grinned widely towards the closet. "Aha! I've got you now! Nothing can hide from the almighty ZIM!" The tiny terror declared loudly with an insane laugh that degenerated into a brief coughing fit. Watching on silently as the creature then lunged to her sister's closet, not really sure what to do in this situation, Sakura silently observed the tiny-terror rip open the closet and start digging around inside.

'_Wha-wha-wha-what the hell… an Amanojaku? A real live Amanojaku?'_ The pinkette inwardly demanded of no one, watching in silence while her Inner-Sakura decided to be a bit of an ass. _**"As opposed to a fake dead one?"**_ Her inner voice quipped dryly, much to Sakura's annoyance, before the pinkette noticed the strange green creature walking out of the closet with a deep frown on its face. "Hmmm… that evil little pig-smelly isn't in here either, but where is she?" The little green man demanded with a snarl, Sakura tilting her head at his words and wondering what in the name of hell he was talking about.

"Pig-Smelly?" She questioned aloud, on accident as she meant to question it inwardly, thus brought the attention of the green menace onto herself.

"AH!" Zim exclaimed with wide eyes, and then looked around for a moment before making a shooing gesture towards the pink haired girl. "Uh… go away little human stink-beast, there is nothing for you to see here… NOTHING!" Zim declared dramatically while pointing at her with a clawed finger, Sakura giving him a rather flat look in response.

"How is an Amanojaku tearing my sister's room apart nothing?" She asked in a monotone, Zim blinking and then rubbing his chin for a moment.

"Hmm… good point…" Zim admitted intelligently before suddenly shaking his head and glaring at her furiously. "Filthy Stink-Beast! Do not try to confuse ZIM!" The tiny-terror ordered with a snarl, Sakura thinking a silent 'too late for that' while Zim then stood stood taller than her. "Now you will listen to Zim, filthy human Pig-Smelly!" Zim ordered while actually managing to lift a surprised Sakura off of the ground even with his spindly limbs. "Now you will forget all you have seen and return to your home, pig-smelly, or Zim will rain doom upon your doomed head and… eh… uh… bring doom!" Zim declared with an evil grin, Sakura blinking for a moment, and then giving him a flat look.

"But this _**is**_ my home…" She pointed out and Zim opened and closed his mouth several times before scratching his head at that tidbit of information.

"Eh… never thought of that." Zim admitted distractedly, which happened very often where he was concerned, before he got his mind back on track. "Wait a minute!" He declared before lunging at Sakura, using his Spider-Legs to get in her face as she took a step back. "You are the vile pig-smelly things sister creature yes?" He questioned brokenly, his Japanese being extremely horrible to say the very least, and Sakura tilted her head to one side.

"Vile pig-smelly? Do you mean Ayane?" Sakura questioned of the creature and it seemed to gaze at her strangely before looking around. Glancing this way and that for a moment he then moved to the side and started to throw things around, seemingly searching for something in particular.

"I swear, these stupid stink-beasts can't even understand Zim, Zim has to make things easy for the filthy human worm baby or it doesn't understand what Zim is trying to say!" Zim complained, still in a broken version of Japanese before grinning. "Aha! Here we go!" He declared while moving back to Sakura with a picture of Ayane and Sakura, neither of whom looked particularly enthused to be in the photo. "Do you know this evil purple haired creature? Tell Zim!" Zim ordered while glaring at Sakura who slowly nodded her head, Zim grinning when she did. "Excellent! Now tell Zim where she keeps her toys!" Zim ordered and Sakura seemed even more confused than she had been only a few moments before.

"What toys? Wait… do you mean her puppets?" The girl asked and Zim seemed to consider for a moment, then actually dropped Sakura onto her ass and started to rub his chin.

"Puppets and not dolls, so they work based on strings and wires instead of machines? But she didn't have any strings or wires to do that so how could they move…" Zim wondered to himself while Sakura wondered just what the hell she'd somehow gotten herself into. However, Zim's musings didn't last long as he rounded on the pinkette once more and pinned her down with two of his spider-legs. "Now you vile-stink-beast, tell Zim what Zim wants to know! How does the little stink beast control her insane creations? Hmmm?" Zim questioned of the girl with a raised brow while leaning down into the pinkette's face, Sakura shaking her head and then huffing.

"How the hell should I know!" She demanded while moving her legs up and kicking Zim off of herself and moving into a backward roll. The pinkette came out in a crouch with an annoyed look while Zim flailed for a moment, until his Spider-Legs managed to allow him to pick himself back up and glare at the girl.

"You will regret that you pathetic worm-baby!" Zim declared before lunging at Sakura, the pinkette growling as all the pent up stress and anxiety bubbled up and turned into a stew of anger and rage.

"Would you please shut the fuck up you snot-green ass?" Sakura demanded, her voice tone and demeanor clearly more truthful with her inner-self rather than how she normally behaved. As Zim came at her, she ducked under him, the tinny-terror wailing before slamming into the wall of the hall behind her. Sakura then grabbed one of his spider-legs and roared as she twisted on her heel to toss the Tiny-Terror back into Ayane's room, straight through the window where he let out a shrill shriek as he plummeted to the ground below. "Good fucking riddance!" Sakura stated with a nod of her head, idly dusting off her hands, only for Zim to launch himself back at her with a snarl on his face.

"Zim will not be bested by a puny…" Zim started to question while coming to a stop across from the girl, then scratched his head for amoment. "Hey… why is your head so big?" Zim asked and Sakura's nostril's flared while she snarled in outrage.

"MY HEAD ISN'T BIG!" She roared while grabbing a nearby piece of wood, that was actually twice as long as she was tall, and started to swing it around at Zim like a club. The Tiny-Terror yelped and quickly started to evade the furious girl's swings, soon flipping over them while she twitched in anger. "Hold still you stupid piece of shit so I can beat you to within an inch of your fucking life!" She growled out angrily and Zim, feeling no need to comply with her request, merely continued dodging before finally jumping out the window, Sakura glaring as he landed on an adjacent building. "Yeah you better run!" Sakura shouted at the green goblin angrily and Zim stuck his tongue out at her for a moment before chuckling sinisterly.

"Be warned pig-smelly, this is not the last you have seen of me…" Zim started before grinning like a maniac and pointing at her. "For Zim shall not forgive or forget this most grievous of insults you have heaped upon Zim! You will know suffering like no other; your every waking moment will be a trial of despair and humiliation before I am…" Zim started to rant, then screamed and lunged out of the way as Sakura managed to hurl the wood at him, breaking it on the other building while Zim made his getaway.

"Finally… he's gone." Sakura said with a nod of her head, pleased that she'd gotten rid of the tiny-terror, before freezing in place as someone cleared their throat. Already imagining who it was, Sakura turned around to see Ayane twitching and angrily glaring at her. As she came face to face with her sister, four words passed her lips that summed up her feelings of frustration with how the day had gone. "Oh screw you Karma!"

(Castle Plun-Darr…)

Manasa smiled as she carried the new bracelets she and Giblet had forged for their master, they had a design she herself had learned from an old friend. "I wonder how Rayne is doing…" Manasa suddenly questioned with a frown, having met the woman a long time ago, or at least it felt like it'd been a long time to her. Of course unlike the immortal Rayne, Manasa's idea of time was that of someone of her species and most others, so she actually noticed when time passed by. However, the young Lamia quickly shook those thoughts from her head as she walked to the tailoring room, so she could find her fiancé and master, the young Overlord named Naruto. As she did, she noticed several Minion's running passed her and raised a brow.

Entering into the tailoring room, Manasa spotted Naruto finishing with his armor and crown, both of which seemed darker and lighter, a familiar pair of bright blue eyes glowing in the shadows of a now purple cloak, while a braided trail of leather came out from the hood and ended in a silver ring. Noticing that the young Overlord's silver-white scales were now visible, Manasa suppressed a slight blush, Stethno having been correct about the youth being a "real looker" at least to her species he was. That wasn't to say he was ugly before, but the scales just seemed to bring out his features more in her eyes, and since she was a Naga, regardless of how shy she was, she also had an inner pervert that refused to shut up no matter how hard she tried…

Shaking her head at several unneeded images of her fiancé that said inner pervert decided would be amusing, Manasa then took a breath and approached the young Overlord in Training. "M-Milord." Manasa stuttered out and Naruto looked to her with a raised brow as she approached with the new bracelets.

"Oh… hi Manasa." Naruto said with a wave while the red-scaled Lamia stood in front of him and held up the pair of Overlord-Bracelets she and Giblet had prepared for him. The Bracelets were a little larger than his normal pair, having two separate sections and what looked like a fin of curved metal between them, a small casing on the underside area, and of course a slot for the Overlord Gems to be placed.

"Giblet and I made you thessse. They're based on a desssign from an old friend of mine, her name wasss Rayne and I thought you'd like them... ssso I commisssssioned Giblet to make them for you." Manasa offered with her usual hiss, mentally hating it since she only hissed when she was nervous, and given her attire, the images from her Inner-Pervert, and how handsome her fiancé was, the poor Lamia found herself constantly nervous around him. Silently watching as the blond took the two bracelets from her with a curious look, Manasa then brought her hands together while he then turned them around for a moment.

"What's so special about these?" He questioned, mostly frowning at how heavy the bracelets were, and wondered what the fins at their sides were for, though they admittedly didn't take up too much space. Biting her lip for a moment, Manasa briefly wished she was able to use telepathy and just show the blond her thoughts. Inwardly deciding it'd be best for her to show him their uses, the girl smiled faintly towards her fiancé.

"M-may I pleassse borrow one sssire?" She questioned and Naruto handed one of the bracelets to the girl while quickly put it on her right wrist, adjusting it slightly to fit her thin limb. Taking a deep breath, Manasa then held up her arm and pointed to the strange opening on the Bracelet's underside, Naruto raising a brow. "Thisss isss a Harpoon, it'sss function isss to bring enemies in close…" Manasa stated while moving her arm back and then throwing it towards a Manikin, a deceptively thin chain tipped with a small knife shooting from the bracelet. The "Harpoon" soared forward before embedding itself into the Manikin, Naruto watching with interest as Manasa then pointed to the fin on the bracelets.

"Thessse are bladesss sssire, hidden bladesss in a way, but are more for if you lossse hold of your sssword and dirk." Manasa explained while unlocking the curved blade from the fin like protrusion at the side of the bracelet, reaching well past the length of the hand. The Lamia girl then took the time to point to the blade, Naruto's eyes locked onto what she was doing and causing her to blush deeply. "The bladesss are for cutting, chopping, and ssslassshing, they weren't desssigned for ssstabing unlike an Asssasssinsss Hidden Blade, but are more durable asss a trade-off." Manasa finished while pulling her arm back, retracting the harpoon and bringing the manikin with it.

The girl then showed impressive reflexes, though not surprising given her serpentine nature, by swinging her arm at lightning fast speed and instantly breaking the manikin to pieces. Finished with her demonstration, Manasa let out a slight breath while retracting both the Harpoon and the blade of the bracelets back into it, then smiled while looking to the young Overlord. She then unlocked a pair of smaller curved blades that slid over past the knuckles from the sides of the slot where the Overlord gem would be. "Thessse are knuckle blades, Giblet said they would be perfect for basssic hand to hand which you studied with him Sssire." Manasa explained before retracting those blades back into the bracelets as well, and fidgeted in place.

"What do you think, milord?" She questioned without using any words with an S, so she could prevent anymore embarrassing hisses from slipping out. In response to her question, Naruto was in front of the girl within several seconds before suddenly wrapping his arms around the Lamia, causing her to squeak cutely as he spun her once with a grin on his face.

"I love them! That's so awesome how you and Giblet came up with these!" Naruto stated while his lamia fiancé seemed to turn every shade of purple that she possibly could. She also felt very aware and conscious of just how close to the young Overlord she was, namely, how pressed into the admittedly handsome boy she was… and it really wasn't helping her in trying to stomp down her inner pervert once and for all.

"Th-Thank you milord… b-but I mussst confesss that I got the idea for the weaponsss from my friend Rayne…" Manasa admitted with a blush, Naruto chuckling lightly as he let the girl go and then slipped both of the bracelets onto his wrists. Unlocking the blades for a moment, the young Overlord in training then swung his arms for a moment to get a feel for the blades, liking their feel and chuckling lightly to himself.

"Either way, I'm really gonna enjoy putting these babies to work!" Naruto noted while looking over the blades for a moment, and then locked them back into his bracelets and looked to Gnarl. "Gnarl, how do I transfer the Overlord Gems to these new bracelets?" Naruto questioned of his Minion-Master, the aging Gray humming lightly before walking over to the old bracelets, and then tapped on the gems. Both of them vanished in a brief flash of light before reforming in the slots on the young Overlord's new Bracelets.

"It's as simple as that sire." Gnarl offered with a grin, Naruto blinking in surprise before fixing the Bracelets so they wouldn't fall off his wrists.

"Oi, the Overlord got his new armor and jewelry already, can we be going now!" Gimli demanded with a huff, Naruto nodding his head while looking to Gnarl with a serious expression.

"Gnarl, Gimli and I will head into the Duergar city by ourselves; we stand a better chance of a smaller group getting in and taking the Drow by surprise, than we have of a larger group moving in and fighting them head on." Naruto stated, much to Gnarl's surprise, while Gimli frowned deeply at the plan.

"Ye be wantin' us ter sneak around lad? Wha' about de glory a battle!" Gimli demanded and Naruto crossed his arms over his chest while fixing the Duegar leader with a flat look.

"Simple really, we have no idea how many Drow are in that place, nor are there any forces in the Underworld large enough for a full frontal assault. The Goblins have only started to recover from being overworked by their former leaders. The Orcs are recovering from the Mammoth Ants. The Naga don't seem like they are too combat worthy, no offence Manasa…" Naruto started to explain before looking to his fiancé with an apologetic look, the red-scaled Lamia merely shrugging as her people weren't known for their physical prowess… well unless it was in the bedroom, but she doubted that would help her fiancé in the Duegars' city. "And as far as the Lizards, Gnolls, Ratonga, or Froglok go, I doubt they can take on the Drow." Naruto stated since he was probably the only person in the Underworld who had experience fighting an elf…

"Oy, true lad, hadn't ne' thought a that." Gimli admitted while stroking his beard, Naruto then patting him on the shoulder.

"Yeah, but that also means more glory for us." Naruto added as more of an afterthought, Gimli grinning widely at the idea, while the young Overlord smirked. _'Hook, line, and sinker…'_ He thought with a mental shake of his head, wondering if all Duegar would be this easy to trick before reminding himself that Gimli was at least half-dwarf, so that probably had a little something to do with how gullible he was.

"Aye! Now ye' be speaking me language lad! Le's go an' show those damn Drow not to underestimate the Duegar or de Overlord!" Gimli declared while raising his Ax into the air, Naruto rolling his eyes before looking to Gnarl.

"Keep things running smoothly for me Gnarl, I'll contact you if I need a Minion-Gate inside the Duegar's City." Naruto offered with a wave while walking out of the tailoring room, Gimli following at his side. "Lead the way…" Naruto offered with a sweep of his right arm, Gimli nodding his head before running off, the young Overlord chuckling for a moment before running after the leader of the Duergar. As they left, a sly grin slowly worked its way across Gnarl's features while lightly stroking his goatee. _'The Master is growing more and more accustomed to his work… yes, soon he'll be ready to truly take the mantle.'_ Gnarl decided to himself, feeling that the Overlord in training would soon be a full-fledged Overlord!

'_But until then I have much work to do, the Underworld must be united into a proper evil empire, the Drow and Vampires must be dealt with before they become even more of a problem, and the other Dark-Races gathered under our banner… yes, then he'll be a true Overlord!'_ Gnarl thought to himself with an evil grin on his face, and then turned to look at Manasa, whom was looking to him with a raised brow.

"Why were you laughing just now?" She questioned of the Minion-Master with a raised brow, Gnarl chuckling lightly and looking for a distraction.

"Uh… no reason let's just say that I'm happy that things are going perfectly." Gnarl replied while slowly walking into the castle to get to work, everything had to be made perfect for his young master to rise up and attain his true destiny!

(Unnamed Human Settlement…)

It is a bright sunny day in the world above, the birds are chirping, children are out playing, and the overworked Jasmine Fenton is moving to and fro. The red-head is currently carrying a mass of records and files towards city-hall, something she does quite often. Of course city-hall is little more than a rather large house, being nothing special in any real way since they town was still quite small. Watching the woman run herself ragged is one Danielle Fenton, her cousin Timothy Turner walking beside of her. Both are on ignoring the fact that their sister / cousin is running herself ragged, much to Wanda's annoyance.

"C'mon Timmy, it'll be fun and easy! I know where Vicky hides the good candy and everything!" Dani stated while walking with her cousin, the brown haired boy rolling his eyes while Wanda hid under his hat. She didn't travel with the two too often, but sometimes she'd ride on Timmy's head under his hat. Glancing to his cousin for a moment, Timmy frowned while looking at her strangely, while it was true he had a love for doing crazy things, getting attacked by Icky-Vicky herself wasn't tops on his list of things to do.

"I don't know Dani, stealing candy from the orphanage seems like it's in real bad taste…" The brown haired boy noted and Dani scoffed, waving the idea off with a slight smirk across her face.

"Please, we're not really stealing anything, Vicky is a bitch who took that candy from the guys there, us taking it is like… like… like you taking all those spell-books from people who don't need them." Dani said flippantly, unlike her straight arrow Paladin brother Danny, the young girl's morals were a little… bent. While she didn't agree with murder or destruction, she'd rob you blind simply for the fun of it, or in other cases because she was bored. As a result the girl often clashed with her brother to the point the two openly fought and argued with one another, it didn't help that Jazz was in agreement with Danny on the subject of Dani's thieving nature. This also didn't help that Timmy wasn't willing to steal to get what he needed, but wouldn't refuse if Dani stole it for him, thus allowing her an outlet for her thieving ways.

"But Vicky would skin us alive if she thought we were gonna take something from her, literally!" Timmy reminded with a visible shiver as he wasn't willing to part with his skin for a little candy, unlike his reckless cousin.

"How bout both of you stop this stupidity and go help Jazz! Or at least convince her to take it easy!" Wanda told the two with a deep frown on her face, arms crossed while she looked out from under Timmy's hat.

"Maybe cause she won't listen to us and it's supposed to be Danny's job and not ours…" Dani replied with an amused smirk and Wanda scoffed, and then slipped back under Timmy's hat as the brown haired youth let out a breath. "Alright now that the nag is gone, c'mon Tim, it'll be fun it'll be fun it'll be fun!" Dani tried to convince the lad with a grin, Timmy giving her a look in response and clearly not buying it.

"I'm not interested Dani, I don't like stealing things like you do…" Timmy reminded the girl while crossing his arms over his chest with a frown, Dani scoffing and giving him a look.

"And I suppose none of those books you use to learn magic were stolen…" Dani challenged and Timmy whistled slightly while looking to the air, the dark haired girl smirking when he did. "I thought so." Dani noted with a nod of her head, Timmy mentally groaning while rolling his eyes and giving her a look.

"Fine, maybe I take stuff you steal, but I am so not helping you steal a bunch of stupid candy…" Timmy stated with a nod of his head, Dani huffing and stopping as the brown haired boy continued on for a moment before glancing back at her. "Going somewhere, Dani?" He questioned of the girl and she placed her hands on her hips and gave him an annoyed glare.

"Well since you won't help me, I'm gonna go grab up that candy for myself." The girl stated while walking off, looking around for a moment, then started climbing up one of the nearby buildings and lunged across the rooftops with amazing skill and grace. Palming his face and dragging his hand down to his chin, Timmy then let out a breath and walked off.

"Not going after her?" Wanda questioned while looking out from under his silly-pink-hat, the brown haired boy glancing up at the faerie and then rolling his eyes.

"It's not my problem if she wants to go off and steal from Vicky." Timmy replied with a nod of his head, Wanda giving him a rather pointed look in response.

"She's your cousin…" The faerie reminded the boy and he frowned while scratching at his hair for a moment.

"Well yeah, but…" He tried to say and Wanda crossed her arms while laying her chin on them.

"And your best friend." Wanda continued and Timmy stopped where he was, looking to the ground silently.

"I know but…" He tried to say and Wanda smirked slightly while giving him a look.

"And if you don't keep her out of trouble Danny will take it out of your hide…" She stated cheekily and Timmy's eyes bolted wide open before turning on his heel.

"Oh man I totally forgot about that! Dani wait get back here!" The brown haired boy called out after his cousin, Wanda holding on for dear life as he sprinted after the girl. Watching on as the two made fools out of themselves is a familiar blond haired girl, whom is currently walking beside of an equally familiar idiotic boy. The two are currently enjoying a simple day walking around town, mostly in an attempt to stave off boredom, though Mandy also wanted to keep Billy from annoying her to no end.

"Oh, Mandy wasn't that that one guy who can do the weird magic stuff?" Billy questioned and Mandy rolled her eyes for a moment before silently nodding. "Heh, cool!" Billy decided while Mandy mentally sighed before reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose.

"C'mon Billy, we have more important things to do…" Mandy stated while grabbing Billy by the scruff of his shirt so they could go and collect what she'd need for a certain ritual, her Desire-Demon remaining surprisingly silent during it all. _'Something big is going on if she's not bothering me to give into my desires… meaning that things should get pretty interesting soon.'_ Mandy inwardly mused to herself while silently dragging her friend-slave with her, the dim oaf giggling stupidly as she does. _'I really need new friends…'_ Mandy decided to herself, shaking her head and glancing to the side upon seeing Frankie Foster walking out of a store, arms filled with groceries. Ignoring the kind red-head who worked too much, Mandy made her way towards the forest to gather the necessary ingredients she required for the spell she had in mind…

(?)

Naruto narrowed his eyes on the home of the Duergar, mentally frowning at the well-fortified building and wondering how the Drow had taken it. All and all, it appeared like a large castle with a central tower rising high above it, three separate walls surrounding the main castle and it's courtyard in order to keep out any intruders. Oddly however Naruto noticed that the buildings looked partially decimated, as if several large spells had been used during combat and so they were all but collapsing in on themselves. "Okay, how the hell did the Drow get in there?" Naruto questioned while quickly turning to Gimli with a deep scowl, not liking this set up one bit.

"If'n ah knew tha', they wouldn' gotten in in the first place!" The Duergar growled at the young Overlord, Naruto frowning deeply before looking back to the walls. "But I know how we can get in. The walls are bridged together so me men won' have ter run up and down stairs or whatnot if'n they have to guard the walls. Meaning we can keep de outer gates closed at all times if need be. We just have to get onto one a da walls and make our way passed the guards there an we should be fine." Gimli explained while pointing to the walls around the city and Naruto mentally frowned while narrowing his eyes.

"And how do you expect us to get onto the walls?" Naruto questioned sharply, Gimli frowning as he looked over the walls and stroked his beard with a frown.

"Dat gon be de hard part…" Gimli admitted and Naruto inwardly grunted before reaching back and patted his Faerie Satchel for a moment. Instantly his familiars flew out, Naruto holding out a hand and picking up Argent out of them.

"Argent, can you make a rope out of magic so we can scale that wall?" Naruto questioned while motioning to the walls around the Duergar City, Argent turning in her master's palm and then humming as she rubbed her chin in thought.

"Tha' seems like a bit much fir just myself Master; even my reserves have their limits." The tiny Unseelie queen told the boy, Naruto humming before looking to Kara.

"Think you could help her?" Naruto asked and Kara frowned for a moment before silently nodding her head in ascent. "Alright good, then I need you two to fly over to the wall and make that rope, we'll be down in a second." Naruto ordered and the two Unseelie queens flew towards the wall while Naruto looked to the others. "Kori light the way for us, Duela stay on standby in case any of the Drow show up, Koma I want you to go scouting around up there for me, Jinx… uh… I really don't have anything for you to do right now." Naruto ordered, Koma flying off towards the walls with a smirk while Duela entered his hood, and Kori flew forward and lit herself on fire to light their path. As they did, Jinx let out a huff and flew back into his Faerie Satchel to try and find something to occupy herself with.

"A'ight lad, let's be going then." Gimli ordered and the young Overlord nodded his head before he started to slide down towards the ground. Gimli followed behind the young overlord at a much slower pace, before both soon landed on the ground. Gimli however landed on his ass with a low grunt, Naruto offering the Duergar a hand up only for him to bat it away. "Ah don' be needing ye help lad…" The Duegar's leader grumbled out while picking himself up, Naruto rolling his eyes before following Kori to the walls. Grumbling under his breath, Gimli glanced at Naruto for a moment, idly stroking his beard while looking to Kori ahead of them.

"Got something to say, Gimli?" Naruto questioned while looking to the Duergar from the corner of his eye, Himli clearing his throat before replying.

"Aye, I was wondering why ye have so many faeries followin ye around, it's like ye got ye own private Faerie Council." The Duergar replied and Naruto shrugged his shoulders, more or less deciding he was going to hold Shin hostage later and force him to tell him what the hell everyone kept talking about that he couldn't understand.

"They're my familiars, I got Kori first, then I got Kara, then Jinx, Koma, Duela, and Argent was last." Naruto replied in explanation, Gimli making a hum sound while stroking his beard and then shaking his head.

"I see… any particular reason ye have so many a dem lad? I mean, Faeries canna' give birth to ye heirs since dey can only be having Faerie children… so if not fer tha' I suppose dey could be a bit a fun every now an den, maybe even liven tings up wit ye mistress if'n de get dull, but with a Lamia as a mistress I don' see dat happenin' any time soon." Gimli noted aloud and Naruto felt his brow twitch, as he'd never even thought about anything like that before and just wanted the Unseelie united for a change…

"Uhh… I was actually just trying to unite the Unseelie, but what do you mean that they can't give birth to kids?" Naruto questioned of the Duegar, feeling that was a more appropriate question than asking why everyone thought he had a Faerie Council, though in all truths he sort of understood why they would think that. In reaction to the question, Gimli raised a brow before chuckling lightly and rubbed his beard once more.

"A'ight lad, ye know how a Faerie an' Unseelie be made a magic an' lost Souls righ'?" Gimli questioned and Naruto nodded his head, still remembering how Gnarl had explained that to him earlier. "Well, cause of dat de Unseelie aren't physical beings like ye or I, as such dey canna' be given birth ter wee babes like ye or me come from. Instead dey go an absorb Magic from de "father" which is den used in de birth of a new Faerie. An, me favorite part is dat dey don' need a man to be doing dis, canna' be male, female, or anythin else an dey can still have a kid!" Gimli explained with a laugh, Naruto's eyes widening dramatically while Duela snickered while sticking her head out of the young Overlord's hood.

"Yep, and don't forget that Nymphs are the same." Duela noted while Gimli seemed to slow down and grinned stupidly for a long while.

"Nymphs?" Naruto questioned with a raised brow and Gimli nodded his head before physically slapping himself to break his trance.

"Bassically jus' bigger Faeries, dey also 'ave more power. Dough most jus' consider 'em elemental spirits, cause ye got Dryads an Spriggan for plants, Naiads an Morgan's for water, Sylphs for wind, an Keres for de Abyss." Gimli replied in explanation, then seemed to frown while crossing his arms over his chest. "Course it's also known dat dey're also more independent den Faeries, have more creativity and a wider variety of personalities and forms…" Gimli explained to the young Overlord who hummed lightly before turning back towards the wall.

"Master, Kori sees Koma!" The flame Unseelie declared before her sister approached, soon landing on Naruto's shoulder and stretching her limbs.

"What did you see up there?" Naruto questioned quickly with a deep frown, something feeling almost wrong with the situation as it was.

"You only have to worry about four guards on each wall; otherwise the security is surprisingly lax for such a large facility." Koma explained with a shrug of her shoulders and Naruto nodded his head, the Steel-Unseelie then flying into the young Overlord's Faerie Satchel. However as she did, Naruto rubbed at his chin with a deep frown, something about the situation feeling off… _'This doesn't make any sense, the Drow took over this place from the Duergar which should've taken quite a force all its own, and now their security is lax when the Duergar would obviously want to take the place back?'_ Naruto questioned with a frown, as it didn't make any sense for the Drow to have such lax security. Frowning even as he and Gimli approached the wall, Naruto looked up just as Argent and Kara came down, finishing the red and black magical rope and then flying into the young Overlord's faerie satchel.

Ignoring the nagging feeling at the back of his mind, the blond then took hold of the rope and placed his feet onto the side of the wall while pulling himself up. The young Overlord idly twisted the rope around one hand to get a good grip, and untwisted it as he twisted his other hand to keep hold of the rope as he scaled the side of the wall. Gimli followed behind the young overlord in training at a slowed pace, idly muttering about not being a bloody elf as he did so. Naruto chose to ignore the crack at elves, mostly for the fact he'd never met one in person save for an undead one who wasn't normal, and focused on scaling the wall, Duela giggling beside his ear as he did so. "I feel like I'm riding with Batman!" She noted before giggling once more and Naruto glanced at her from the corner of his eye, and then wondered if there was a species of "Bat-men" somewhere in the Underworld he didn't know about.

Ignoring the idle thought, Naruto came towards the top of the wall and stilled, narrowing his eyes as he peered over it and spotted a Drow approaching. The youth also took that moment to study the creature, his eyes instantly spotting numerous similarities to Sylvanas and yet many more dissimilarities, meaning that while the Drow and High-Elves had once been the same people, evolution had drastically altered the Drow into something else. The Drow seemed to have dark skin, black on the one he could see, with white hair slicked into a ponytail and bright red eyes that gave a slight flicker in light like a cat's eyes, their nails were long and sharp, their ears were pointy but not nearly as long as Sylvanas' own, nor where their eyebrows like hers, and unlike Sylvanas light physique, this "Drow" had a more lean muscled build suggesting heavy work.

Narrowing his eyes, Naruto also noticed that the armor the Drow wore was very dark in color, not only that but it seemed mostly like leather with small bits of metal here and there, clawed gauntlets, a small chest-plate, and metal greaves seemed to be the only amount of armor this particular Drow wore, with a Chain-male fauld of sorts falling from around his waist while leather clothing covered the rest. Glancing around for more Drow to make a comparison to, Naruto was slightly annoyed upon seeing none nearby before thinking of a way to deal with his current Dark-Elf-Problem. Silently watching as the male approached, Naruto then moved quickly by grabbing one of his legs and tossing him over the side of the wall and to the ground below, a sickening crack echoing from below when he did.

"Nice 'en lad!" Gimli stated in a low whisper with a grin, Naruto rolling his eyes as he then climbed up onto the wall and held a hand down for Gimli. The Duergar accepted the offered hand and was pulled up onto the wall, then pulled his axe from his back and looked around. As he did Naruto raveled up the rope and pulled it over his shoulder, idly considering a few things he could do with the rope as he followed behind Gimli. "We need ter get to de bridge to de next wall." Gimli stated and Naruto nodded before motioning him to go first, the Duergar doing so while the young overlord silently followed in the shadows behind him while working the rope into a lasso on one end.

Following behind Gimli and keeping an eye out for more Drow, Naruto then spotted the bridge and frowned upon seeing the Drow guarding it. Watching the guard alongside Gimli, Naruto waited for him to walk away before quickly looking around and inwardly making a plan. Idly rubbing at his chin, the young Overlord then glanced at Gimli before running passed him and jumped onto the wall, digging his claws into the stone and started to scale it. Looking down to where the Drow had been not long ago, Naruto then unraveled the rope from his shoulder and lightly looped it around a post and tested its durability. _'Magic rope, gotta love it.'_ The young Overlord mused inwardly as the strength of the rope was certainly greater than he'd imagined. Looking to the Drow as he walked out of the bridge, Naruto lowered the lassoed end down to around the height of his head.

Grabbing hold of the other end and wrapping it around himself, Naruto waited for the Drow to turn, the dark-elf instantly walking into the rope, much to his surprise, when Naruto then jumped down the lassoed rope snagging around the Drow's neck and pulling him upward. The force of the maneuver lowered Naruto back to the ground, while at the same time the Drow's neck was clearly broken with a sickening crack. Releasing his hold of the rope, Naruto allowed the drow to fall to the ground dead before waving Gimli over, the Duergar chuckling as he passed the now dead guard. Naruto however climbed back up the gate and un-looped then raveled his rope before making his way over to the other side and narrowed his eyes, watching Gimli come out to where several more guards were making their rounds.

'_Okay so there is a little more security this far in, but that still doesn't excuse them for leaving the place almost completely unguarded.'_ Naruto thought to himself before noticing guards on each of the inner gates and looked to his wings for a moment. _'Well… I do have wings so I should be able to fly over… but I haven't really got any practice in on doing that kind of thing…'_ The young Overlord in Training thought to himself before shaking his head and unfurling his wings, allowing them to stretch, causing several muscles he didn't even know he had to suddenly relax. Wavering for only a moment, the blond then took several steps back before suddenly running forward and jumping from the gate. Catching the air with his wings Naruto flapped them only a few times before rising up so as not to be noticed by any of the guards below.

Narrowing his eyes on the first gate, Naruto dive-bombed downward and was upon the first guard within moments, unlocking the blade from his right bracelet before pressing it down into the guard's throat. The guard struggled for several moments, drowning on his own blood which Naruto was shocked and a little disturbed to find was a sickly blackish green in color, then stilled soon after. Standing and wiping the blood from his blade, Naruto scowled while looking at the green-black substance. _'Sylvanas used to have red-blood, she said as much at least, but these guys… either something has been done to them, or they aren't normal Drow anymore.'_ Naruto thought to himself while silently making his way to the side of the gate and watched as Gimli approached one of the guards patrolling the outer wall with his axe at the ready.

Deciding to not waste any more time with observations, Naruto looked down to the Guard at the gate as he came out and jumped down. Landing on top of the Drow, Naruto unlocked both of his wrist blades and dug them into the sides of his neck and down further into their upper body, the guard falling to the ground almost instantly dead due to the angle of penetration. Shifting the wrist blades back into their casings Naruto then looked to Gimli as he lunged at the other guard and smashed his Axe into the drow's face, easily cleaving his head in two. Shaking his head at the gory display of brutality Naruto climbed back up the wall of the gate and then came out on top of it as Gimli ran across the bridge. Checking the next wall Naruto spotted two guards guarding the top of the next gate and two patrolling the wall itself, one guarding the bridge.

Idly frowning at this, Naruto got another running start before flying over to where the next gate was while lowering his rope. The caught one of the guards by his neck and Naruto used him to knock the other from his perch to fall into the darkness below. As he fell, Naruto turned quickly, snapping the guard to the side and twisting his neck in such a way as to break it. Lowering the guard back onto the gate, Naruto landed soon after and removed the rope from his throat before jumping off of the gate and killing the guard at the bridge below it. Narrowing his eyes, the blond then used Shadow-Step and moved through the shadows before coming out behind the next Drow, whose mouth he closed while stabbing one of his wrist blades into his kidneys, Gimli taking out the other Guard as he did so.

Pulling his wrist-blade from the Drow, Naruto frowned while locking them back within their casings before looking around with a frown. Crossing his arms over his chest as Gimli approached the young Overlord in training then fixed the leader of the Duergar with a pointed look. "This should've been a lot harder…" Naruto stated in a matter of fact kind of way and a grim look crossed over Gimli's face as well.

"Agreed lad, somethin I'n't right round 'ere." Gimli grumbled out as he and the young Overlord made their way across the bridge, the fact there were no guards or any kind of security worrying the young Overlord greatly. _'This doesn't make any sense, The Drow took this place from the Duegar, yet they've left so few guards to actually watch the quickest way inside the place… maybe they didn't think the Duergar would come this way, sure, I can buy that. But still, they have to know that the Duergar would go to someone for help and should've planned for the contingency of someone with stealth breaking in… unless…'_ The Young Overlord inwardly mused before his eyes widened in realization just as they passed the bridge and a large heavy iron gate closed behind them.

"It's a trap!" Naruto declared while scowling as numerous Arrows rained down on them from above, the young Overlord pulling Gimli out of the way of them.

"Damn Drow! Always sneakin up on ye like de rats de are!" Gimli growled out in clear annoyance while Naruto decided to not comment on the fact that they had also snuck into the castle themselves. Looking around Naruto widened his eyes as several spider-like Drow started to crawl down from the walls. They were like any other Drow from the waist up, however below that it was as if they were some sort of Spider-Centaur with eight spider-like legs allowing them to crawl down the walls while they took aim at them with their bows.

"Those aren't Drow…" Naruto whispered before pulling Gimli out of the way of another hail of arrow fire from the creatures, Gnarl's voice suddenly echoing in his head.

_[You are most certainly correct Sire! Those are not Drow, at least not anymore; those are servants of Lolth, also known as The Web-Spinner a Daedric Lord from Tamriel known as Mephala. Those who worship her are known quite well for their treachery and deceit, seems these Drow are aligned with her and she's gifted them with the ability to become Dryder, Spider-Centaurs! So now it seems as if we know just who among the Deadric Lords from Tamriel was helping that blasted Mind-Flayer by giving it that Dragon!]_ Gnarl explained quickly while Naruto scowled, inwardly wondering why Mephala was working with these Drow and what she was getting out of it besides a pack of dangerous followers. Quickly shaking such questions from his mind the blond haired youth then pulled the Blade of Plun-Darr from the back of his waist and lunged towards the Dryder.

Setting the blade on fire, Naruto let out a low roar as he jumped up and stabbed his blade through the Dryder's chest only to be knocked back by another Dryder. Flying back into a roll, Naruto dug the Blade into the ground to slow himself down before narrowing his eyes on the incoming Dryder and unfurling his wings. Flapping them a few times, the young Overlord then shot into the air and formed a ball of lightning into his left hand. Swinging his arm the blond sent out an ark of Lightning towards the ground, and then idly wondered when and where he learned to do that before dodging around several arrows from the Dryder. "Duela, think you can poison these guys for me?" Naruto questioned while avoiding arrows, the Poison Unseelie Queen giving a giggle before yawning beside of his ear.

"Sorry, Drow and Dryder are immune to all forms of Poison, so I can't really help you with them even if I wanted too…" Duela replied casually and Naruto nearly face-faulted in midair before righting himself and lowering himself with a scowl.

"Oh is that all? Wonderful… so why didn't you or anyone else mention that little tidbit to me earlier?" Naruto questioned of the Poison Unseelie Queen darkly while spinning to the side to avoid another hail of arrow fire. Soon spotting a nearby Dryder, Naruto approached him before swinging the Blade of Plun-Darr through the Dryder, slicing it open before flapping his wings and shooting back to avoid more Arrows. While the young Overlord occupied the majority of the Dryder's attention, Gimli let out a cry as he ran at one of them, quickly jumping on its back and breaking its neck before hopping off of it and onto another one. The tactic proved to be effective for only a moment as the Dryder then split into two groups, one firing at Naruto and the other at Gimli, the Duergar leader ducking behind cover as they did.

"It probably just slipped our minds master… can't really help that." Duela replied while Naruto grunted and held out his left hand, sending numerous small blasts of lightning flying into the Dryder with a scowl on his face. "Ha! The Author has been playing _**way**_ too much Kid-Icarus Master; you're starting to fight like Pit!" Duela noted with a giggle, Naruto briefly wondering if he made a mistake in taking the Poison Unseelie Queen on as a familiar before shaking it off as he continued to unleash a hail of lightning onto the Dryder. However several of them started to move while firing, making it hard for the young Overlord to hit them, a low growl sounding from his throat as he then flew up higher to evade the shots from the Dryder below.

"Duela I don't care what craziness is going through your head or what voices are talking to you, the commentary is kind of distracting and I need a way to take out these damn Dryder before they turn me and Gimli into Pincushions!" Naruto hissed at his most eccentric familiar and Duela rolled her eyes, idly watching the blond spin and twist around the shots from the Dryder, though with great difficulty due to his wingspan.

"Eh, I think it's kind of like I'm Palutena and you're Pit, only you can fly longer than five minutes and don't have small angel wings." Duela noted to herself and Naruto felt his eye twitch in annoyance at the tiny Unseelie Queen's ramblings. Deciding to ignore her, Naruto formed a ball of Shadow-Matter into his hands before flinging it at a Dryder, the darkness quickly surrounding it and piercing it with tendrils of darkness. "But if you really want some help Master, I could make some flammable gas for you to set the Dryder on fire, Drow and Dryder have a rather notorious weakness to flames and light after all…" Duela offered while happily bobbing her head to a nameless tune she was idly humming. Blinking for a moment, Naruto had to resist face-faulting yet again at that tidbit, honestly wondering why no one told him these things beforehand.

"Alright then get to work Duela, I'm sick of having these guys shoot at me…" Naruto ordered and Duela gave a giggle as she flew out of his hood and then grinned at him widely.

"You might want to pick up Gimli before you set the place ablaze Master, just telling you so you know beforehand!" Duela stated with a snicker and Naruto palmed his face, wondering if perhaps the psychotic Unseelie had somehow managed to read his mind before returning to dodging and weaving around the many arrows from the Dryder. As he did Duela flew around the room almost completely unseen due to her small size, the tiny Unseelie spreading a fine mist of flammable gas around the room before zipping back to her master and into his Faerie-Satchel. Noticing when she did, Naruto then flew down and picked up a surprised Gimli from the ground while dropping the still alight Blade of Plun-Darr at the same time. Instantly the gas was set off and the Dryder all let out numerous shrieks of pain as they were burned alive, Naruto quickly flying up and up as the flames rose from the ground.

"Leave it to Duela to spread too much of the highly flammable gas…" Naruto muttered to himself before flapping his wings and shooting straight up, looking down as the flames continued to rise up, Naruto then looked up and mentally grunted as he stopped himself at the ceiling as the flames continued to rise. Cursing lightly, Naruto dug one clawed hand into the ceiling and both of his feet, then hefted up Gimli, the Duergar's eyes widening as the flames came up to about his foot before finally dying down and lowering. Both the Overlord and the Duergar leader let out breaths of relief as it did, Naruto idly muttering about never doing that again as he released the ceiling and opened his wings, gently gliding to the ground below and letting go of Gimli.

"Oy, canna' say I want ter be doing dat again anytime soon…" The Duergar muttered to himself with Naruto inwardly agreeing with him as he walked over to the Blade of Plun-Darr. However just as he made to pick it up something like lightning hit him and his entire body spasmed and shook before he fell over onto his side, his entire body numb. "Lad!" Gimli cried out before the same fate befell him as well and the Duergar leader fell with a heavy thud, Naruto only able to see him out of the corner of his eye. _'Sh-sh-shit… is th-th-this some k-k-kind of a p-p-paralysis spell? Th-th-that's new…'_ Naruto thought to himself as he heard a slight chuckle from the side and turned his eyes to a door as a Drow woman walked out of it, Naruto narrowing his eyes onto her since it was the only thing he could really do at the moment.

"My oh my now what do we have here? Two flies caught in my web…" She mused with a chuckle, Naruto mentally groaning at the clear spider-pun considering her forces in the room. The woman was tall with dark grey skin and her white hair pulled into a high ponytail, her bangs framing her eyes and face, her lips are colored a deep purple with her eyelids colored purple as well, her long fingernails matching both, she was dressed in an odd black leather dress that left her cleavage and navel bear with a single silver pauldron on her left shoulder slits down from her hips to show the dark flesh of her hips and the tops of her thighs, a silver circlet around her head with a circule gem at her forehead, her arms were garbed in fingerless black leather bicep length gloves with bracers on her forearms, her legs clad in thigh length black boots, a whip at her right hip and a strange black sword sheathed on her back.

_[Oh great, a Drow-Priestess… and a Highborn one from her general look. And if that weren't bad enough she even has __**The Ebony Blade**__ on her back, a magical weapon and one of Mephala's gifts to her champions… Sire be careful of that sword, it can cut through even a Dragon's hyde like a hot knife through butter.]_ Gnarl noted with a sound of annoyance, Naruto glaring at the priestess as she knelt down with a cruel smirk and lifted his head slightly, her piercing ruby red eyes gazing into his glowing sapphire orbs.

"So who do we have here, a little Dragon-Kin of all things… and with white scales, how rare." The woman noted mostly to herself while Naruto narrowed his eyes onto the Drow Priestess even further as she flicked back his hood and then removed his crown with a smirk on her face. "Oh and before you think of calling for help… I think I'll just nip that right in the bud right now." The Drow noted while grinning down at a surprised Naruto and then leaned down to whisper into his ear. "You should probably thank your old friend for telling us about your crown, little Overlord. I believe you call him "The Betrayer" or something of the sort." She mused while glancing at the youth, his eyes flaring a bright burning crimson red at her words, the priestess letting out an amused chuckle as he glared at her.

"Oh don't worry your little head, Young Overlord. You'll be happy to know I'm not directly working under that oaf, lady Lolth is still my supreme leader… he just has her favor but I don't have to directly answer to him. He merely warned us of you escaping him some time ago." The priestess noted while Naruto let out a low growl even as she rose up, several Drow guards walking out and picking the youth up, the priestess holding his crown with one finger. "Oh, and just so you know, it was Eclavice, High Priestess of Lolth who captured you this day." Eclavice told the young Overlord just before he was dragged away, the Drow-Priestess glancing at Gimli as well before having her men drag him away as well…

TBC…

AN: I AM SOOOOOO SORRY! Seriously I meant to update sooner, but life decided to throw me a major curveball… but rather than bore you all with my sob story, let me just apologize and allow you to get on with your lives. Anyways, yes here is the new chapter! And so everyone knows, YES this is Eclavice introduction into the story, to those of you who don't remember, Eclavice was the mother of Akore, who a lot of people were asking me about for a while now…


	18. Duergar Pt2 (Dragons Wrath)

**Disclaimer**: I own anything within; this story is merely a way for me to alleviate boredom…

[Lord Pain: You'd think people would expect I'd need a break, I do have a life after all…

Gnarl: Forgive the masses sire, but you did take several months to update.

Doc: And you were being lazy, even with that Dry-Spell you hit.

Giblet: Yeah yeah! Lazy master! HA HA!

Lord Pain: You idiots do remember that I could kill you off whenever I want, right?

Gnarl: Err, yes sorry Master, please forgive your unworthy servants…

Giblet: Forgive! Forgive!

Lord Pain: Fine, just start the fic already… and where is Jester?

Jester: Let the story begin!]

_Companions_:

**Zim**: Inactive

**Tak**: Inactive

**Tora**: Inactive

**Grunge**: Inactive

**Manasa**: Inactive

**Slythe**: Inactive

**Panthro**: Inactive

**Azula**: Inactive

**Will**: Inactive

_Horde Size_: 0

_Active Minions in Horde_: 0

_Other_: 5 Primary Grays, 5 Primary Browns, 5 Primary Greens

_**NU**_: _**Dark Lord**_ +

_**Chapter 17**_: _**Duergar Pt. 2**_…

(Castle-Plun-Darr…)

All seemed deceivingly calm within the current fortress of the newest Overlord, it was in fact, far too quiet for normal. A certain young red-Lamia however was slowly backing out of the throne room with wide frightened eyes, followed by several fearful minions who started to duck and hide behind this and that with terror on their face. Even Shin and Doc ran out of the room before ducking behind Manasa for protection, the red-lamia girl looking at them incredulously as they did before yelping cutely at the roar that suddenly tore its way from the throne room.

"DAMN THAT BLOODY DROW BITCH ALL THE WAY TO HELL AND BACK!" Gnarl roared from the throne-room, numerous servants and minions looking towards it fearfully before hurrying along to their duties.

Manasa, Doc, and Shin all looked more than a little shaken before slowly making their way back into the throne room and found Gnarl kicking a torch into a wall with a snarl. The elderly grey then stomped his way over to it, picked it up and looked at the three with a wild look to his aged yellow eyes.

"Get the bloody Jester in here! I need to unleash this bloody rage on something and I need to do it now!" Gnarl shouted at the three and Doc lunged out of the room in search of the Jester as if the devil himself were hot on his heels. Looking at the old minion warily, given his sudden burst of fury, Manasa slowly inched towards Gnarl as he twitched and growled lowly.

"Gn-Gnarl pleassse calm down, I'm sssure milord isss alright and…" Manasa started to say and Gnarl let out an annoyed grunt before giving her a rather annoyed look.

"I'm not angry because I think the Master is in danger… if he were to approach a state of near death, the Overlord-Heart would recall him to its presence and heal him…" Gnarl growled out while ringing the wood of the torch in his hands and twitching violently. The Old Minion could even feel the vein bulging at his forehead, threatening to burst while he let out several deep heady breaths of air.

"But… then why are you ssso angry then, if milord will be alright, ssshouldn't thisss be a good thing?" Manasa questioned in genuine confusion, her brow knitted together as she tried to think of a good reason for the Minion Master to be so vehemently furious even though his Master was going to be alright. In response to the Lamia-Girl's question, Gnarl let out a furious snarl, his single yellow eye all but glowing with pure hate and unadulterated fury.

"I'm angry because that bloody Drow wench dared to admit that she's working with The Betrayer! The Same Bloody Bastard who's murdered Overlored after Overlord, including the Master's late Mother, his ancestors and sooo many more I can't name them all! And if that weren't bad enough, Mephala herself is working alongside that bastard, meaning that at least a few or our former allies among the Daedric Lords have sided with him!" The old Minion Master snarled, his yellow eyes narrowing dangerously.

"Not only do we have to contend with the forces of light, but now we have the Dark-Races split in two, The Succubi and Demons are working alongside a few of the Deadric Lords and The Betrayer is at their head!" Gnarl growled out furiously. Manasa widened her eyes at this news before gasping as realization suddenly struck her.

The Succubi were always a massive part of the Dark-Alliance; they easily seduced officials and the like in governments for easy access. The Deadric Lords had always been a great help as well, providing Deadric Soldiers and artifacts for use by the Overlord and his armies. The Demons were another blow; they had often been a sort of back-bone to an Overlord's armies, typically guarding the main stronghold.

Their only boon in this most dire of situations at the moment was that The Forces of Light would never work alongside such forces due to their inherently evil and vile natures. Of course the Forces of Light were already a massive power to contend with, especially with their forces as diminished as they were. And now even if their master managed to unite the races not aligned to The Betrayer, they would have a force only roughly the size of "The Horde" of Azeroth. Meanwhile The Betrayer would have a force the size of The Burning Legion as well as The Scourge… in and of itself no small force. The fact that such a force was already mounted against them made her realize just how dire their situation really was.

"B-But if that'sss the cassse then milord could be in even more danger!" Manasa noted and Gnarl frowned while pacing back and forth, then stopped and stroked his goatee for a moment.

"Not exactly, The Betrayer seems to be lying low… if he weren't we'd have seen him already, or at least spotted his succubi Lilith somewhere." Gnarl grumbled out with a scowl and then turned to the door as Doc slowly inched his way into the room, dragging a trussed up Jester behind him by a rope.

"Get in here and bring that idiot with you Doc! I need something to hurt!" Gnarl growled while glaring menacingly towards the now wide-eyed Jester who looked more than just a little frightened as Doc dragged him into the room. And not for the first time in his rather short tenure as the Jester of the Overlord, Jester wondered if maybe he should try for a less hazardous line of work, maybe like demolition or something else that was safe, yeah…

(Duergar Fortress…)

Naruto had a sudden and intense hatred for Paralysis, for many reasons too. First and foremost at the moment was because it was inconvenient. If he could move he'd get up and beat the Drow who had taken his weapons, armor, and gear away to within an inch of their lives. Not only had they taken his weapons, his armor, his pouches, but also Kori and the others who were all still in his Faerie Satchel.

Second, he had an itch on his nose that he really wanted to scratch and it was driving him a little batty. That was kind of silly considering he'd just been captured but he was pretty sure he could break out of a dungeon when he got the ability to move back. The gear he had sealed on his arm would be handy for escaping, and what little magic he knew would also help.

Finally, the thing Naruto hated about Paralysis the most was quite clear in his mind and that was that he was completely and utterly helpless, thus allowing the Drow to abscond with his things and treat him like he was nothing but a rag doll.

Case in point, Naruto was currently at the mercy of the Drow. Not something he was particularly enthused by. He was being dragged from what he assumed was an armory and through the keep. Naruto idly noted the design used by the Duegar was simple but effective; clearly they were in no way artists. That was rather similar to their light based cousins and made sense.

As the Guards dragged him through the halls, Naruto idly moved his eyes and fingers when they weren't looking. He did so with his toes as well, both giving off a feeling of pins and needles that he associated with being numb. _'I wonder, could you use a paralysis spell in medicine to numb a patient and keep them still for surgery?'_ Naruto idly wondered to himself, and made a mental note to pass the idea along to Doc and Gnarl for further analysis once he managed to get his crown back from Eclavice.

Oh yes **her**, now he felt a low growl reverberate from deep in his throat. Even the thought of that particular Drow caused his eyes to turn an unholy red. He had many plans for that Drow, and never before in all of his life had he wanted to gut someone as much as he wanted to with her. He truly wanted to rip her spine out, he wanted to devour her soul and leave her as a husk for the Minions to play with.

Hell, as scary as the thought was to him, he even wanted to pull a Lich King on her. He was truly considering the option of killing her, raising her from the dead, killing her again, and then raising her again just to be his undead servant for however long he wished, before finally giving her to the minions to do with as they pleased and leaving her unable to do anything to stop him. It was only the thought of Sylvanas hating him that kept him from truly considering that as a plan.

Admittedly the thought was rather dark, but considering she was allied to this "Mephala / Lolth" person, who was allied to The Betrayer. Well he felt more than justified in wanting to completely ruin her existence and leave her a broken shell of her former self… Thankfully besides Sylvanas hating him his lack of necromancy also made it clear he couldn't do such a thing.

'_Course that's because I kept thinking a Shadow-Knight was the same as a Death-Knight, and considering who the first Death-Knight was, Sylvanas-Hime might hate me for being one… but… maybe I should just stop worrying and just focus on getting stronger, Sylvanas-Hime couldn't hate me just for getting more powerful.'_ Naruton thought while trying desperately to believe his own thoughts about his surrogate mother figure. Not to say that he didn't trust her, he did, but her experiences with Necromancy weren't the best… to say the very least.

Before the blond could continue his thoughts he found himself tossed unceremoniously into a cell. Grunting as he hit the cold stone floor face-first, the blond inwardly promised to make the guards pay. Hearing the door to his cell creak and close, the blond narrowed his blue eyes on the shadows about the room. The sounds of the Drow guards footsteps echoed against the stone halls as they left, leaving the blond alone with his thoughts. The cell was cold, dank, dark, and dirty; a stench permeated every stone and caused his lips to curl in distaste.

'_And to think, I usually like the cold.'_ The blond thought to himself with a frown. Glancing here and there, he saw no signs of anything other than stone around him. _'No bed or anything to hide a weapon or tunnel. The Duegar certainly don't make things easy for their prisoners.'_ Naruto noted to himself while idly flexing his still numb fingers and toes. The pins and needles feeling from was a little annoying, but the blond knew he had to get the feeling back to his limbs.

"_**It seems ye need some help, little one."**_ A strange voice noted while Naruto narrowed his eyes as a shadow rose up. It took the form of a sinister dark violet creature that bordered on being jet black. Naruto wasn't aware of many species, thanks in part to never researching them, but this was one he knew of from Sylvanas.

"A… Void-Walker…" The blond noted with his eyes narrowed on the creature.

"Hello, is someone over there?" A strange voice with a distorted lilt questioned from the next cell over. Both Dragon-Kin and Void-Walker glanced to the side, the obsidian being raising a hand to make a shushing gesture.

"_**The others can't hear me for now. I would not speak lest you make yourself insane to their minds."**_ The Void-Walker stated while slithering forward and placing a hand onto Naruto's head for a moment. _**"Ahhh… you have familiars already, good, you're also growing, perfect."**_ The Void-Walker noted while removing his hand from Naruto's head and then gave a slight bow. _**"Now forgive my rudeness, milord, I am a humble servant here to assist thee in any way ye see fit."**_ The Void-Walker stated while straightening and Naruto raised a brow while staring at it.

"Can you… check around… look for people… and my weapons and equipment…?" The blond struggled to get out but the Void-Walker silently nodded his head while seeming to sink into the ground.

"Now I know I heard something this time, who's there?" The same distorted voice from before stated. A moment later what sounded like hooves clopped against the stone floor and echoed out within the quite dungeon. "Are you alright over there? I promise I don't bite." The distorted voice offered in slight jest and Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Para… lyzed…" Naruto strained out and heard an Oh from the voices owner. It was silent for a few momets afterwards, before he finally heard the voice again.

"So… why were you captured?" She, as he assumed, questioned and Naruto idly noted she had a slight accent.

"I'm… sort of important…" Naruto replied while trying, in vain, to work the feeling back into his body.

"I see." The voice stated quietly and all was silent for a moment. "I guess that makes sense, they wouldn't just keep you alive if they didn't have too." The girl replied while Naruto finally got some feeling back into his fingers and toes. "Still wish they'd at least let me bathe every now and again." The girl grumbled irritably and Naruto smirked slightly from his prone position.

"Drow… aren't known… for their… hospitality…" The young Overlord in training noted and the girl chuckled lightly.

"This is true. Keelah, they're even more inhospitable than the Altimer of Tamriel." The girl noted to herself and Naruto raised a brow.

"Altimer?" The blond questioned and the girl let out a sigh.

"Umhmm. Let's just say that I can understand why Orcs say High-Elves, those are Altimer by the way, are uppity and arrogant." The girl explained, Naruto mentally stowing that bit of information away as he continued trying to regain feeling in his body.

"Hey… you… uh… what's your name?" Naruto questioned of the girl while inwardly wondering why **she** was being held.

"Tali, Tali'Zorah. And before you ask, I'm a Faun." The girl replied curtly. The blond Overlord however felt himself groan as he'd never heard of a Faun from anyone, even Sylvanas.

"Faun?" Naruto questioned of "Tali" with a deep scowl, idly remembering Gnarl mentioning them and Sanguine before. In the back of his mind, he was making a plan to find Shin then beat him up until he produced a book for him to study on all the races across the world.

"Yeah a Faun, we're similar to Satyrs only we worship Sanguin the Daedric Lord of Debauchery. We're a nomadic species driven from our home by Ring-Golems several centuries ago. We're prone to hedonism, debauchery, and as most say, Wine and Song. Dancers are respected among my people, though I don't think they are held in as high esteem in other places. And we were enslaved by the ancient Magisters before the Magi-Wars and know how to make effective Soul-Gems." Tali explained to the young Overlord honestly.

Said blond raised a brow at this, and then mentally groaned when he realized how much information that brought to light. Sanguin was one, some "Magi-War" was another, and then she mentioned Soul-Gems, none of which he'd ever heard of or encountered before save in passing. _'First thing I'm doing when I get back home; I'm finding a book on history and the Dark Races and studying it…'_ Naruto thought resolutely while pushing himself up and grunted as he barely managed to keep himself up on all fours.

"So Tali, why are you down here anyways? Not that I know much about your species, but I have the feeling dark dank caves aren't really your thing…" Naruto questioned while slowly pushing himself up and then bracing himself against a wall to keep from falling.

"Oh you're right about that, I was just passing through a few months ago when a band of Grey-Dwarves captured me and tossed me in here. They even accused me of being a spy! I mean I know they're paranoid and yeah my people are well known rogues and spies but still…" Tali replied with an exasperated sigh as she leaned back against the bars of her cell.

"Sounds like your people have sort of a bad rep…" Naruto observed and Tali let out a laugh.

"Tell me about it, I can't go anywhere without people distrusting me. Well actually the Draenei are really nice, maybe a bit too nice, but that's because we share a very similar appearance." Tali replied and Naruto mentally stowed that tidbit away. Draenei were well known for their females great beauty after all, even Sylvanas had mentioned it once.

However Naruto was snapped out of his thoughts as the Void-Walker appeared in his cell again. _**"I have located your weapons and armor lord, and saw fit to return them to you."**_ The Void-Walker stated while laying out his gear on the floor, sans his crown. _**"Thy crown is held by the Priestess milord, as is thy enchanted blade, had I been able, I would have returned them to thee as well. Instead I shall assist you in escaping this place and dealing with these foolish wretches."**_ The Void-Walker stated while turning and knocking the door to his cell down.

Naruto then watched as the Void-Walker was besieged by guards and held them at bay. Shaking his head, Naruto quickly got to his gear and slipped it back on. As soon as his Overlord-Gems were returned, Naruto widened his eyes, a surge of power flooding his body and the numbness in his limbs fading at last. Shivering for a moment Naruto stumbled and backed into a wall. Quickly regaining control of himself Naruto put the rest of his gear on and ran out to aid the Void-Walker against the Drow-Guards.

Lunging around them Naruto unlocked the blades from his bracelets and jumped at a guard. Swinging his arm down into the man's collar, the blond then turned and sent the harpoon from his other bracelet flying into the neck of another guard. The guard gurgled on his own blood while Naruto yanked his harpoon back and kicked off the first guard at the same time, slamming them into one another while he flipped in the air. Landing in a low crouch, the blond rolled out of the way as a Drow Guard with a sword came swinging at him.

Blocking with both the blades on his wrists, the young Overlord pushed him back. The Void-Walker then grabbed the back of the Drow's head before swinging him into another guard and sending both flying back. Lunging at the Void-Walker Naruto jumped onto his shoulders before kicking forward and stabbed his blades into the faces of the two guards, killing them both instantly. The Void-Walker on the other hand let out a roar as he then slammed both fists into the two guards Naruto had originally incapacitated, killing them as well.

"Not bad big guy." Naruto noted aloud while collapsing his blades and the Void-Walker merely nodded. The Void-Walker then seemed to sink down and slither into Naruto's shadow, vanishing without a trace. With the guards gone, Naruto then walked over to the cell next to his own and took his first look at "Tali".

The girl had an identical body-structure to a Draenei, however was smaller in overall size. Like a Draenei she had hooved hind-legs, a tail, horns, and glowing eyes. She was a slight bit taller than he was of course, but then again he was still only twelve so that wasn't surprising. However everything else was covered in layer after layer of clothing.

The first thing noticeable about Tali, is that she wears a gas-mask of some kind with a glass front that leaves her glowing eyes visible. She also wears a strange black suit made of an unusual material Naruto isn't familiar with. She also wears a metal collar over her neck; numerous pouches are strapped to her, a series of straps holding on a purple swirl patterned cloth that forms a hood and loincloth, leather bracers with thick padding, and a pair of metal greaves.

"I'll admit it; I didn't expect you to look so much like a Draenei…" Naruto noted while staring at the girl and she seemed to roll her eyes. In all honesty it was sort of hard to tell seeing as her mask hid a fair margin of her facial features.

"I get that a lot. But could you maybe let me out of here?" Tali questioned while coming up to the bars. Frowning deeply, Naruto considered the girls request for only a moment before looking back to her.

"Care to help me deal with these drow?" The blond questioned of the Faun curiously.

"What could I possibly do? I'm not an up-close fighter, I can't use a bow, and I have no weapons." Tali told the blond pointedly. Rolling his eyes Naruto reached back and pulled his dirk free before sliding it into the girl's cell. "Oh… well… I suppose I could maybe help a little. But the only spells I know are healing spells, oh, and a bunch of spells for fighting off disease." The girl stated and Naruto held one hand up and made a ball of fire, then held the other up and made lightning arch over it.

The blond haired Overlord then flicked his hands to the sides dismissing them both and formed a bit of Shadow-Matter into his hands. Watching Naruto dismiss that as well and cross his arms, the faun let out a breath. "Oh… so you don't need a mage, well okay then, I'll help." Tali relented while Naruto smirked smugly and motioned the faun to stand back. Obeying the silent order Tali backed up in her cell and watched as the Void-Walker suddenly reappeared.

"Keelah!" She exclaimed as it then bashed the door to her cell down. The Void-Walker then seemed to spiral downwards, becoming a part of Naruto's shadow once more. Shaking his head at Tali's expression, what he could see at least, Naruto then turned and started down further into the dungeons. _'I just bet Gimli is down this way.'_ Naruto thought to himself as he went, then glanced back to Tali's cell.

"You coming or not?" Naruto quipped with a smirk as Tali slowly exited her cell and looked to the dead guards.

"By the maker, what have I gotten myself into?" Tali questioned of the air before running after the blond haired Overlord-in-training. "So do I get to know the name of my rescuer?" Tali asked while glancing to the blond and Naruto looked at her from the corner of his eye.

"Its Naruto…" The blond replied simply, having yet to decide what his true surname actually was. Black, Kuro, Uzumaki, he was starting to think Surnames were stupid as they just made things more complicated.

"Naruto huh… I like it." Tali said with a slight nod of her head. The admission caught Naruto by surprise, causing him to look at her strangely in response.

"Most people probably think it sounds weird…" The blond stated as they continued down the corridor and reached a set of stairs.

"It sort of does, but it's not a bad thing. I've heard far stranger names in my travels." Tali replied honestly. Finding the girls open and honest nature refreshing, Naruto smiled slightly.

"I see, and thanks for not mentioning my height." Naruto told the faun girl and she tilted her head slightly.

"What's wrong with your height? I've seen Halflings, Dwarves, and Gnomes, all of them are born short, why would you being a little small matter to me?" Tali asked curiously and the blond let out a chuckle in response.

"Let's just say in my line of work people tend to be a lot taller." Naruto replied honestly.

"Oh… um, is it alright if I ask where we're going? The exit is the other way." Tali noted and Naruto rolled his eyes in response.

"We need to find a friend of mine first." The blond replied before making a shushing motion and Tali nodded her head. The two listened and heard the sounds of very loud, very angry cursing bounding off of the walls.

"Your friend I take it?" Tali quipped and Naruto palmed his face while nodding his head. However they then heard a deeper, more menacing voice echo out as if in reply and Naruto looked to Tali.

"Friend of yours?" The young Overlored questioned and Tali slowly shook her head in reply.

"Not mine, I was hoping that was another of yours…" Tali admitted with a worried tone and a frown crossed the young Overlord's lips. Slowly approaching the end of the stair-way, Naruto crouched down and unlocked one of his wrist blades. Holding the blade towards the edge to look around, Naruto frowned upon seeing two guards.

"Why didn't they notice the ruckus upstairs?" Tali questioned in a whisper and Naruto opened his mouth to answer, then stopped and frowned.

"Beats me…" He finally replied while pulling his arm back and looking down to his shadow. The Void-Walker's head rose up to meet his gaze. "Alright we move quickly, we don't need them alerting anymore guards." Naruto stated and both of his companions nodded their heads in agreement with the young Overlord. With that resolved Naruto unlocked both of his wrist blades and slipped around the corner. The Void-Walker followed quickly behind the young Overlord. Tali on the other hand hung back and watched silently.

Naruto himself lunged forward quickly, jumping at one of the guards and taking him by surprise. The blond quickly sunk both of his blades into the guard at his neck, leaving him gargling on his own blood. At the same time the Void-Walker grasped the other guard, smashing him into a wall with one arm and flattening his head with the free hand. Once both guards were dealt with, Tali finally approached the two.

"Oh lad there ye' be, Ah've been wonderin' when ye'd finally show up." Gimli stated from his cell and Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Sorry, I was a bit paralyzed for a while there." Naruto responded and Gimli nodded his head.

"Aye, I hate it when 'at happens! Bloody drow, they never did fight fair." Gimli grumbled with an annoyed tone while Naruto glanced to the cell across from him.

"So who is that then?" Naruto asked while looking within to see a simply massive Lizard-Man.

"'At be de' former Lizardman chieftain 'afore Viathen, his name be Wrex, and he's a right ornery sod. I'll tell ye' that." Gimli replied and "Wrex" grunted while glaring at the Duegar.

"You're one to talk." Wrex grumbled in a deep gravely voice while Naruto looked to Tali.

"You know how to pick locks?" Naruto questioned and the girl nodded her head. "Good, then get to work on Gimli's cell while I have a discussion with our scaly friend here." Naruto ordered while giving the Faun some lock picks to work with. Mumbling something to herself Tali set to work while Naruto approached the massive Lizardman and frowned deeply.

"So you used to be the Chieftain?" Naruto questioned and Wrex snorted and leaned towards the bars with a scowl. He was an enormous red scaled Lizardman with several scars over his left eye, his right eye a shade of ruby red.

"And what if I was?" The lizard questioned and Naruto frowned.

"Then I want to know what you can tell me about a Lizard-Man named "Slythe". Cause of him I'm now the Lizard-Man Chieftain, and ever since I first met him I've felt like he's hiding something." Naruto replied and saw a snarl cross Wrex's face.

"Good instincts." He noted while leaning back with his good eye closed. "Slythe is about as slimy as they come. He's working with some Undead for one thing, for another; he's got a small army constantly poised to attack the Cats." Wrex responded and Nartuo frowned deeply.

"That explains a lot… wait, did you say undead?" Naruto questioned and Wrex nodded his head.

"Yeah, one was a Mummy, and the other was some huge guy in armor." Wrex replied and Naruto growled low in his throat.

"The Betrayer… but why would Slythe move me to take down Viathen if he's working with The Betrayer. I thought he was responsible for that Mind-Flayer that was controlling Viathen in the first place." Naruto grumbled out and Wrex blinked before frowning.

"A Mind-Flayer?" Wrex questioned quietly, Naruto staring at him when he did.

"You know something?" The blond questioned and Wrex let out a hum while considering.

"Maybe, but that can wait till we get out of here." Wrex replied while tapping on the bars for a moment. "But you might want to be careful with these; they're made out of Adamantine. It's not the lightest metal but really tough and easy to enchant, I think they might've enchanted these to be extra tough." Wrex explained and a scowl crossed Naruto's features.

'_I think I know where our Adamantine Smelter is…'_ The blond grumbled while glancing back at where Gimli was then reached back and tapped on his Fairy-Satchel. Instantly Koma flew out to rest before him with a bored posture, causing Naruto to let out a breath.

"Alright, this is the third time one of you has somehow known which of you I wanted when I tapped on my satchel, just how are you doing that?" The blond Overlord questioned with a scowl on his face and Koma rolled her eyes.

"We're your familiars; we are bound to your magic, bound to you so long as you live, must follow your orders, and of course we also have a minor psychic link to you like your Minions." Koma explained while examining her claws and leaving Naruto more than a little surprised. The tiny metal unseelie then started to giggle to herself with a barracuda grin crossing her face. "We also have a minor psychic loop so we experience what you do and vice versa, this can be… fun." Koma noted with a far off look, Naruto silently raising a brow before rolling his eyes.

"Just get him out of there… it's made of Adamantium." The blond ordered and Koma gave a mock salute before flying to the cell door. Moving to the lock, the tiny unseelie then reached a hand inside and felt around before smirking at a click. The door swung open while Koma flew back to the blond haired youth. Wrex on the otherhand cracked his neck and lumbered out of his cell, standing to at least twice Naruto's full height and so easily towering over him.

'_Oh wow he didn't look __**this**__ big behind those bars…'_ Naruto thought to himself with wide eyes while Wrex let out a grunt and rolled his arm for a moment.

"Alright kid, what now?" The massive lizardman questioned and Naruto silently backed away from him before considering their options.

"Well, first you guys should probably go looking for the armory to get some weapons and armor." The blond noted aloud and Wrex frowned before an idea came to mind.

"We might also want to find that Dragonkin girl the Drow locked up, she could be useful." Wrex stated flatly and Naruto looked at him with clear surprise on his face.

"They captured another Dragonkin..." The blond whispered with a frown, idly wondering what the Drow were up too. _'I understand why they captured me, I'm The Overlord and The Betrayer wants me dead, but why capture more Dragonkin?'_ The blond Overlord thought to himself before clicking his tongue and turning on his heel.

"Agreed, find and free her before getting to the Armory. After that you should locate and free the other Duegar the Drow captured. Meanwhile I'll go and occupy the Drow." Naruto stated while turning on his heel to make his way through the keep.

"Lad ye be one boy, what are ye gonna do against all the drow crawling through this place?" Gimli questioned of the blond haired youth and Naruto glanced at him. Feeling as the Void-Walker reattach itself to him, the blond merely narrowed his eyes.

"Believe me when I say I have ways of getting help. Just keep out of sight and I'll deal with the Drow… especially their priestess." Naruto growled out in response, and then marched down the hall, leaving a confused Gimli. Blinking for a moment, Tali then looked to her new set of companions with a curious expression.

"So do we really do what he said?" She asked and Wrex silently nodded his head.

"We're no help to anyone without armor or weapons. We should pick up that Dragonkin girl I mentioned and head out to find our little Overlord." The massive Lizardman replied while Gimli grudgingly agreed and the three made their way through the prison to find their target…

(Unnamed Human Settlement…)

Mandy sat in front of a runic circle with one hand gently rubbing her chin, Billy was sitting behind her and idly talking to a gourd she'd fashioned to resemble herself… if she were only two feet tall, with a black bat for hair, small stubby arms, and wheels for feet that is… admittedly it looked nothing like her, but Billy wasn't really, well, all there. Thus, Mandy-2 was more than enough to keep the big-nosed imbecile completely and utterly placated, and out of her hair, much to the blond girl's satisfaction.

Licking her lips, Mandy stood up and started to arrange some dribbly candles into a circle around the "Ceremonial-Octogram" she'd drawn, with purple chalk, which this odd summoning ritual required. Alongside that was 4-CC's of mouse blood, green thematic incense, two small bits of wood, and since she didn't have access to seven other mages, one fresh egg. All of which had been hell obtaining because of Billy and his stupidity. Thankfully the last thing she needed as a simple incantation that was in the book.

"This looks like utter nonsense…" Mandy grumbled while twitching as she looked over the incantation needed for this particular ritual. It was known to ancient mages as "The Rite of AshkEnte" which was said to summon Death, and then force him to stay until she released him.

"_**You realize this is an Eighth Tier spell, which is extremely high-level magic by any standards girl. This Rite was used by the ancient mages, long before they became burdened with morals, back when nothing would stand in the way of their pursuit of knowledge. So even with my help this could go very wrong very fast…"**_ The Desire Demon told many sternly, a cautionary tone to her voice. The girl merely scoffed and brushed some of her bangs from her eyes with a frown crossing her lips.

Mandy idly absorbed the tiny tidbit that the Desire-Demon let slip, the fact that mages had once been so ruthless was actually refreshing. Though not entirely unbelievable given certain lands in Thedas, the fact that ALL Mages had started out that way helped her understand why people still feared them to such an extreme extent… as for the danger, well…

"Far as I'm concerned I've got nothing to lose and everything to gain. If I die you take my soul to hell and I take over. If not, I meet Death and try and bargain with him… it's a win win situation for me." Mandy replied while her Desire-Demon merely hummed slightly. Honestly she didn't doubt Mandy would take over. The girl had a disposition matched only by the strongest of Pride-Demons after all. And it was all but impossible to control the strong will of the girl…

"_**I warn you girl, Death shall not be as you imagine him… or perhaps he will… either way, be cautious."**_ The Desire-Demon urged and Mandy silently agreed with her inner demon before taking a deep breath as she began the ancient Rite of AshkEnte.

"Wan Equestrus, Chiv im Curlus Homme Qui into Blotteau Hurlus…" Mandy whispered out while holding the egg in front of herself, only mildly surprised when she felt a magical pulse, proving that at the least the Rite was real. Holding the egg over one of the candles between her forefingers and thumbs the girl felt a swirl of wind around her body.

"Venée Query, Huree Deeré Im Circle shimmer, Sclerotic Zimmer…" Mandy continued to say, louder this time as the winds around her body started to pick up around the octogram. She then released the egg at another pulse and watched it float before her before twitching as she continued the incantation.

"Ovum Krakus, Totalé Knackus…" Mandy stated as the egg crack down the middle, surprising Mandy because of the meaning of the incantation.

"Quoil Mortallus, Exit Softshue…" Mandy continued on, the winds growing wilder and making her reach one hand down to hold her skirt, since she really didn't want Billy trying to peak at her. At the same time the egg split open, the insides spinning for a moment before forming into a ghostly hollow face.

"Inanimenté, Defunct-i-kenté Query Nicht Dis Rite AshkEnte Bucket-ustrum Jeté Thrustum!" Mandy continued as a strange swirl of dark purple / black magic opened up above her, showing a dreary looking monochrome realm beyond it. As it did the egg yolk suddenly returned to normal, the shell then closing back around it and glowing brightly.

"Yokus Nunnus, Mortis Cummus!" Mandy declared before there was a brilliant flash of light from the egg and Mandy was forced to turn away and shield her eyes. Soon the blond girl heard a shriek from Billy, and then a crash and grunted while opening her grey eyes, finding Billy had somehow managed to run into a wall and leave a slight indention; however the ceremonial octogram was noticeably empty, much to her annoyance.

"Should've known this ritual was a fake…" Mandy grumbled while Billy attempted to force his face out of the wall, Mandy 2 sitting nearby with an evil looking grin, just like she made it have.

"WELL I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THAT, I THINK IT WORKED RATHER WEL ACTUALLY." A deep almost sinister voice noted politely, the voice itself seeming to just appear in her mind rather than flowing through her ears. Mandy's eyes widened and she slowly turned around to find a figure in a long black cloak.

The said figure is sitting in a comfortable looking reclining chair, a cup of tea in his bony hands. He is a tall skeleton with blue fire looming in his empty eye-sockets. He wears a long dark robe / cloak with a hood and a golden horseshoe for a broach. Leaning against the recliner is a massive scythe with a wicked looking blue blade, said blade having been turned down into the pole in some way to allow it to be carried around harmlessly.

Blinking several times, Mandy examined the specter a moment longer then slowly stood up. Facing the creature she watched him sip at his tea. She honestly had no idea how he did so, having no lips or organs. "Hey! Look Mandy it's the hogfather!" Billy shouted upon spotting the robed skeleton. The skeletal being himself silently inclining his head in the boy's direction. Mandy on the other hand frowned while glaring at her friend.

"No you buffoon, that's The Grim Reaper." Mandy responded while Billy seemed confused, The Grim-Reaper then raising his cup and somehow sipping some tea even though he had no lips or any kind of internal biological workings.

"ACTUALLY I DID SUB FOR THE HOGFATHER ONCE, NOT ONE OF MY MORE WELL KNOWN DOINGS BUT IT DID HAPPEN." The Grim Reaper noted plainly with Mandy looking at him with a very confused expression. For a brief moment, the blond girl wondered how Billy could be right, it didn't seem possible… fire suddenly exploding from Billy's ass was far more likely!

"AND I ACTUALLY DON'T LIKE BEING CALLED THE GRIM REAPER; I'M NOT VERY GRIM YOU SEE, SO PLEASE, JUST DEATH IS FINE." The Skeleton explained before leaning back in his chair and watching them both silently. Mandy looked at "Death" strangely at his exposition, idly wondering what point it had.

"Death huh… alright I'll bite, then why didn't you appear in the circle?" Mandy questioned with a frown, Death idly sipping at his tea when she did, before then humming lightly.

"NOT SURE, BUT OLD RITUALS LIKE THAT ARE ALWAYS A BIT TEMPERMENTAL, MAYBE YOU GOT SOME PART OF THE OCTOGRAM WRONG." Death replied casually while leaning back in his chair. Mandy briefly wondered how this was supposed to be death since from what she knew of Death, it was supposed to be a fearsome creature bearing down on you all your life or something… this Death on the other hand, well… he seemed amicable if not somewhat pleasant. As Mandy had this thought Billy lunged over to stand before Death and then grinned widely towards the skeletal reaper.

"Hey! How do you do that talking without moving your mouth?" Billy questioned of the skeleton and he silently hummed while sipping at his tea, deciding not to answer the random question while Billy started to go into a little rant about something or other. As he did Mandy twitched while glaring at both of them, and then noticed Death turning to look at her.

"SO, YOU HAVE A QUESTION YOU NEED ANSWERED?" Death questioned with a look at the blond girl and Mandy hummed lightly while crossing her arms over her chest.

"No… I wanted to use the spell to raise you so we could make a deal…" Mandy replied and Death seemed a bit surprised by her answer and tapped at his chin for a moment.

"I SEE, THAT'S CERTAINLY A NEW ONE, USUALLY MOST MAGES JUST WANT ME TO ANSWER THIS OR THAT FOR THEM…" Death noted aloud and then glanced over at a clock and started to drum his fingers on the armrest of his chair.

"PARDON, BUT I WAS RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF BREAKFAST, WOULD IT BE TOO MUCH TROUBLE TO ADJURN TO ME DOMAIN FOR THIS BARGAIN… AND YOU LOOK LIKE YOU COULD USE A DECENT MEAL, AND WHILE NOT THE BEST ALBERT CAN CERTAINLY MAKE A DECENT BREAKFAST." Death noted while Mandy blinked for a moment while wondering who Albert was, and then twitched as her stomach chose that moment to growl.

"Hey Mandy! You have a Mabari in your tummy!" Billy noted with a giggle, Mandy giving him a look while Death silently shook his head before leaning back.

"OH IT SEEMS THAT YOU WILL BE HAVING BREAKFAST WITH ME THEN, HOW NICE." Death noted more to himself than anyone before snapping his fingers, a portal opening beneath them and causing the four of them to vanish in a flash of blinding light, leaving no one the wiser to their disappearance.

(Duergar Keep…)

"Why would they capture a Dragonkin?" Tali questioned as she followed behind Wrex and Gimli up into the prisons tower.

"To hell if I know kid, they just did." Wrex replied with a scowl on his face, Gimli rolling his eyes in response.

"I thin' dat maybe dere be more to 'is 'en were noticing." Gimli stated rather pointedly and Wrex snorted while lowering down as they came towards the top of the tower.

"No shit, I could already tell you that. I just don't give a damn." Wrex grumbled out while Tali silently slipped passed him and into the shadows. Glancing about, the Faun spotted four Drow in the hall and raised a brow.

'_This seems like a bit much for a single prisoner.'_ She noted to herself before looking up and around for any points of assault. Unfortunately the top floor of the tower was a single room with cells all around. As a result there was nowhere to move around to if they wanted to try and take the guards down silently. _'Maybe we could lure one over here, but then the other three would come at us.'_ Tali reasoned with a frown before slipping back behind Wrex and let out a breath.

"Four guards, round room, no possible chance of taking them out without alerting another. Even if we drew one of them away from the others, they'd likely investigate in a pair and leave one of them to watch the prisoner." Tali reported and Wrex smirked darkly while his body began to glow a bright crimson red.

"Good, I hate sneaking around anyways…" Wrex noted with an eerie chuckle as he got up and then lunged out of the alcove. Roaring loudly the massive Lizard-Man vanished in a streak of red, grabbing a Drow by his jaw before plowing his head into the stone wall behind him, crushing his skull into pulp. Turning around as the other Guards came at him, Wrex grinned darkly, his sole red eye glinting dangerously. Eyes wide as she saw the lizard kill the drow with minimal effort, Tali quickly looked to her side as Gimli placed a hand on her shoulder.

"C'mon lassy! We don' want the lizard ter 'ave de fun now do we!" The Dark Dwarf declared with a laugh as he lunged out of the alcove with a war cry. The Duegar slid under a swing from a Drow's sword and grinned as several red spines shot from his beard into the drow. The Drow cried out in pain, backing up while Tali shook her head and lunged into the fray. The young Faun jumped onto the injured Drow's back and quickly stabbed him through the throat with the Dirk she got from Naruto.

Flipping off of the drow, the young Faun landed in a low crouch and turned to see Wrex swing his tail. The massive Lizard-Man sent another Drow flying back from the force of his swing before forming a ball of mana into his hands. Waiting for the other Drow to come his way the massive Lizard forced his spell into the ground sending the drow flying. Tali saw this and ran at Gimli, jumping off of the, admittedly, short man's shoulders and onto the drow.

Acting quickly the young Faun stabbed up into the guard's skull with her dirk, killing him nigh instantly as they came in contact with the ground. Finished with that, Tali got up and cleaned the blade off on her loincloth before turning back to Wrex. The said Lizard-Man was grinning sinisterly, glowing bright red once more before rushing forward in a blur. The massive Lizard-Man soon reappeared grabbing the last Drow by his jaw and lifted him with one arm.

Holding a spell in his free hand, Wrex let out a war-cry as he then slammed it into the drow's head. The force of his spell and close range not only killed the drow, but sent a spray of gore out to cover Wrex. Spitting some blood to the side, the massive Lizard-Men let out a dark chuckle while dropping the thoroughly deceased Drow. "Well, that was fun." Wrex noted while wiping some of the blood and gore from his body, Tali looking at him incredulously.

"If that's your idea of "fun" remind me to be boring…" Tali mumbled to herself while looking over to see Gimli breaking down one of the cell doors.

"Oi, found ye' Dragon-Kin Wrex, seems a wee bit scrawny if ye ask me though." Gimli called out while Tali and Wrex made their way over to the Grey-Dwarf.

"So she's the perfect size for our little Overlord then?" Wrex questioned humorously and Gimli let out an amused chortle while Tali scratched at her hood.

"Why do you keep calling Naruto an Overlord? And what is an Overlord anyways?" The young Faun questioned of the two curiously, Wrex rolling his eyes in response.

"Lassy, 'at boy's de' leader of all de' dark races, 'at's what an Overlord is." Gimli explained and Tali blinked several times before her eyes widened.

"I… I actually didn't know that…" She admitted while Wrex rolled his eyes and walked into the cell to see a white haired, pointy eared, green skinned and almost disturbingly thin girl in a thin white tunic. Oddly though Wrex also noticed she had a mass of black scales lining her back and shoulders.

"Whatever, now are you alive or what?" The massive Lizard grumbled while poking the girl, getting her to open a single eye to glare at him. Her eye was bright luminescent yellow with no sign of where her iris and Sclera separated, giving them a rather manic quality.

"I am still living… who are you and what purpose do you serve?" The girl questioned weakly while pushing off of the wall. Idly Wrex noted that the girl had long black fingernails which greatly resembled claws or talons. Ignoring that discover the massive lizard crossed his arms and looked down at her impassively.

"I'm Wrex, and it's your lucky day girl, The Overlord decided it'd be worth it to bust you out of here." Wrex replied and the green skinned girl raised a brow before scoffing.

"And should I desire to remain here instead?" She questioned and Wrex leaned down and locked eyes with her.

"Well we'd be more than happy to leave you at the mercy of the Drow, but I think our young Overlord might have more use for you." Wrex replied while grabbing the girl, surprisingly nearly fitting his hand around her, and hefted her over one shoulder.

"Put me down…" The girl growled out and Wrex simply snorted in response.

"Nothing doin', the Overlord wanted you free, and I'm not explaining why we didn't follow orders." Wrex grumbled out while the girl scowled deeply, Tali giving her a confused look.

"Why are you being difficult? Do you honestly want to stay imprisoned here?" The young Faun questioned and the girl scoffed.

"No fool, I simply don't require the aide of a Lizard to free myself… besides what does this "Overlord" of yours have that I would desire?" The girl retorted and Gimli grinned at the green skinned girl.

"Asides the fact he's a high-born Dragon-kin like ye?" Gimli questioned with a smirk, genuinely surprising the girl who took on a thoughtful posture.

"I see… perhaps it would be worthwhile to meet with him then." She admitted while crossing her arms Tali looking to Gimli for an explanation. The Grey-Dwarf rolled his eyes in response and leaned towards Tali.

"She's a High-Born, d'ere notoriously proud, only way to really get on one's good side is is ter' be a high-born yer'self." Gimli explained and Tali made an Oh with her mouth as the group continued down into the keep. "So where we be headin' now?" Gimli questioned of Wrex and the massive lizard glanced at the Duegar.

"Lead us to the armory so we can get our gear back, I don't know about you but I miss my armor." The massive lizard replied and Gimli nodded his head in agreement before moving ahead of Wrex and turning down a corner…

(Elsewhere…)

Naruto slunk through the shadows as he made his way through the Duegar keep. He avoided detection only because he wanted the Drow to notice him as far from the prison as possible. As such he continued to slink through the shadows before slipping into a large room. Frowning, the blond came to find himself in a large room with a massive drill. The drill was covered in symbols resembling those he'd seen on Tower-Objects, bringing a deep frown to his face.

Also in the room is a new smelter, which he instantly assumes is the "Adamantine" smelter Gnarl had mentioned once. Glancing to the side Naruto also sees a large pressured object and raises a brow for a moment. Humming, Naruto then shakes his head and ignores it while looking around and spotted a Mana-Pillar, Health-Column, and Minion-Totem just lying around.

'_The duegar had a lot of tower-objects, so at least now I know why The Betrayer wanted this place so bad.'_ The young Overlord in training mused to himself with a mental scowl, and then walked over to a corner. Finding a spot of dirt, Naruto held a hand over it and concentrated on it, forcing a Minion-Gate to form out of the ground. Instantly a few browns climbed out and jumped onto the blond.

"Master!" They cried out happily and Naruto rolled his eyes before pushing them off of himself. Getting back to his feet and brushing himself off, the blond then looked at the minions with a serious expression.

"Can you guys go back through the gate and tell Gnarl to make a Tower-Gate near here?" The blond questioned and one brown instantly jumped back into the Minion-Gate. Mere moments later the blond smirked as a Tower-Gate and Green Minion-Gate formed up near the browns. "Alright good, now let's get to work." Naruto stated while raising a hand and forming ten browns and five greens out of the gates.

Looking around the minions cheered upon seeing their overlord, who palmed his face when they did. _'We seriously have to do something about their excitability…'_ Naruto thought to himself before sweeping the minions to the Mana-Pillar, Health-Column, and Minion-Totem. The minions quickly scooped the objects up and carried them over to the Tower-Gate, Naruto shuddering at the sudden intense rush of power he felt from obtaining the objects.

'_I should have the ability to control twenty five minions now._' Naruto thought while pausing for only a moment to get his bearings, the blond then swept his minions to the Adamantine Smelter afterwards. Once that was dealt with, Naruto had the Minions pick up what was clearly a Minion Drill of some kind and carry it over to the gate. Ignoring them as they somehow hurt themselves with the drill; Naruto found a box full of gems and picked out a couple Shadow-Gems.

'_These Duergar were digging up a lot of useful things…'_ Naruto mused while absorbing the Shadow-Gems into his body, grunting lightly as they became a part of his body like the others before it. Looking around to make certain he'd taken everything of interest the blond then swept his minions to his back. Glancing out of the door to make certain no one was around the blond idly remembered the Greens ability to ambush and smirked darkly.

Sweeping his browns back into their gate Naruto pulled fifteen more greens from his Green Minion-Gate and gathered them together. Moving out and into the hall, Naruto separated five greens from the group and bound them to a Guard post to ambush anyone in the crossway. Moving on, Naruto did likewise with the next few crossways, leaving him with only five green Minions to work with.

'_That should still be more than enough to keep the Drow occupied at the very least.'_ The blond reasoned inwardly, and then crouched down when he saw something odd. A drow, clearly older than he was, dressed in silver armor with a red scarf and loincloth was talking to one of the warriors. Judging by the fact he hadn't seen any other female Drow, Naruto assumed this one was important in some way. _'That could be useful.'_ Naruto mused while watching the Drow warrior march off, and then followed after the drow girl.

Keeping to the shadows, the blond followed behind the Drow, who halted. Cursing mentally Naruto ducked out of the way as she turned on her heel and sent a bolt of lightning at him. Rolling into a crouch, the blond narrowed his eyes while discreetly moving his Minions around behind the smirking Drow.

"Well well well, what do we have here?" The girl questioned upon seeing the blond rise up with his glowing eyes narrowed onto her. "So I take it this is supposed to be the Dark Overseer's imposter…" She mused with a frown while Naruto scowled deeply while glaring at her. "Bah! Who do you think you're fooling child, there is only one Dark-Overseer." She stated and Naruto rolled his eyes while his greens crouched behind her.

"Maybe so… but I am The One True **Overlord**!" Naruto growled out while his minions jumped onto the Drow from behind, knocking her down and quickly pinning her limbs. Ignoring the fact that many of the greens had **very** perverse grins while doing so, Naruto approached the girl and knelt down to glare at her. "Now then, you're going to tell me where to find Eclavice." Naruto growled out while glaring at the Drow girl, who merely glanced at the minions instead.

"Those… those are the servants of the Dark-Overseer but how could you possibly…" She started under her breath Naruto growled and grabbed her by her hair, forcing her to face him. As soon as she was facing him the girl noticed as a mass of wispy black tendrils were flowing off of the young overlord, his body shaking and a low growl reverberating from his throat.

"I asked you a question wench!" Naruto snarled, his temper rising and his eyes turning a bright burning red. **"Now tell me, where Eclavice is!"** The blond ordered furiously, watching on as the Drow girl looked at him with a mix of fear and realization. However before the blond could get his answers he heard a cry as numerous Drow guards came from down the hall. **"I don't have time for this!"** Naruto snarled while raising a hand and making a clawing motion over his face to form his "Prince of Blades" mask.

"**Rooks!"** The blond roared while snapping his fingers, the mighty behemoths suddenly forming out of thin air. The Drow-Girl saw this with her eyes dilating and her body quivering in fear while Naruto's Void-Walker formed out of the ground as well. The blond himself then aimed either hand down either side of the hall. **"Deal with these pests!"** Naruto ordered and instantly the Rooks rose to their feet and marched silently to intercept the oncoming Drow.

The Rooks were then followed by the Void-Walker, which grabbed one of the incoming drow and smashed it into the nearest wall. Not taking any chance, Naruto then tapped on his Faerie Satchel, Kori flying out and looking at her master curiously. **"Help the Rooks and Void-Walker deal with these Drow, I have one to interrogate…"** Naruto ordered and Kori gave a happy salute and grin before zipping off into a spin while setting herself ablaze.

Turning away from the carnage and ignoring numerous screams of pain, Naruto then grasped the Drow-Girl's hair and brought her to face him. Holding out his free hand Naruto formed a bit of lightning into his hand and cracked it to the side like a whip. This had the immediate effect of the Drow girl shaking in his grasp. **"I will not ask nicely again, where is Eclavice!?"** Naruto demanded furiously of the Drow girl, causing her to quickly reply.

"In the central chamber! Sh-she's c-conversing with l-Lolth even as we speak!" The Drow Girl said a little too quickly but Naruto ignored it and released her hair. Quickly kneeling down at her side instead the blond tied her crimson cape around her wrists behind her back. Sweeping the minions off of her and showing an impressive display of strength Naruto then physically lifted the drow onto her feet by her bound wrists.

"**Lead me there!"** Naruto ordered and the girl needed no further coaxing to do so, quickly moving with the blond and his minions following closely behind. Idly snapping his fingers to recall his Rooks, Naruto watched as they finished with the Drow in their way, The Void-Walker and Kori returning with them.

"Woo! Kori is most enjoying this master! May Kori please burn more pathetic Drow?" The tiny flame unseelie questioned of her master cheerfully, Naruto scowling as he thought about it.

"**If any more get in my way, feel free to have at them."** The blond replied darkly, Kori grinning widely and looking for any sign of incoming Drow. Listening to his surroundings, Naruto heard his minions in the distance dealing with other drow and being found. **"Good, now I'm glad I left those greens back there."** Naruto noted to himself as the greens were keeping the drow at bay long enough for him to get around.

However the drow girl suddenly stopped and Naruto scowled before glaring at her. **"What's wrong?"** The blond demanded with a scowl and the girl nodded to where more Drow were heading their way. Almost instantly Kori adopted a psychotic grin as she flew from Naruto's shoulder and gave a slight bow.

"Allow Kori Master!" The tiny Unseelie Queen stated before laughing as she turned into a fireball and began to spin down the corridor. As she did she became a swirling, laughing, mass of fire that began to burn through the Drow as if they were only kindling. Seeing his 'guide' stop to stare Naruto feels himself become annoyed, he's not even sure why but he feels very annoyed.

"**Move!"** The blond ordered before kicking the drow girl forward, to which she quickly complies and continues onward. Looking forward as Kori cleared their way, Naruto rolled his eyes as the tiny Flame Unseelie returned a giggling happy mass.

"What fun Master! Surely there is no greater master than Kori's master!" Kori declared happily while the said blond merely rolled his eyes before glaring at the dark-elf girl. He honestly had no idea why, but her very presence seemed to just irritate him to no ends. He tried to think about it rationally, but no explanation came to mind for the irrational hate he felt. It wasn't even hate he felt towards her, just annoyance, aggression, and what felt like disgust.

'_I'm really going to have to ask Shin or Gnarl about this when I get my crown back… after I rip out Eclavice spine of course…'_ The blond haired youth mentally decided while trying not to hurt the drow in front of him. It was somewhat harder than he liked, annoyingly so, and only seemed to rile him further still. _'There is definitely something off about her.'_ Naruto mentally decided while making his way down the hall.

"**How close are we to Eclavice?"** Naruto questioned of his captive with a sidelong glance and she quickly answered.

"Not far, the central chamber is just through the antechamber over there, but the guards will…" She started only for Naruto to interrupt.

"**Not be a problem."** Naruto assured while motioning forward, The Rook of Blades moving forward to attack the guards. With that done Naruto then raised his hands, a war-horn like sound echoing as the blond recalled all his Minions. Only a short time later the blond found ten Minions returning, inwardly guessing the other ten had not survived the drow.

"Looks like you've been having fun without us." The voice of Wrex demanded with a laugh as he, Tali, and a green skinned girl approached from down the hall.

"**I was getting tired of waiting for you to show up."** Naruto replied casually while glancing at the green skinned girl he assumed was the Dragonkin mentioned earlier. Although Naruto idly wondered where she found the dark green lipstick and purple eye shadow she was wearing. **"What of Gimli and the other Duergar?"** Naruto questioned of Wrex, putting the female at the back of his mind for a moment.

"They're off dealing with the rest of the Drow for us." Wrex explained and Naruto nodded his head in acknowledgement, before glancing over at the green skinned girl.

"**Now just who might you be?"** The blond questioned and the girl smirked arrogantly.

"I am Maleficent, daughter of the high born lord of the Shadow-Dragons." The girl replied and Naruto hummed, idly remembering that Shadow-Dragons were hunted like Abyss-Dragons, only better at hiding.

"**I see, I am Naruto, Overlord and Highborn Abyss-Dragon-Kin."** Naruto stated while not seeing the drow he'd captured shiver violently at that admission. Raising a brow the green skinned girl walked around the blond, seemingly sizing him up. As she did Naruto idly did the same, noting that she was wearing a black / purple outfit with a horned skullcap that had a skull at her brow, her long white hair being pulled into a ponytail at the top of her head, a long dragging purple cape, thigh length high-heeled armored boots, fingerless spiked gloves over most of her arms, and a jade staff.

"Hmm… you seem more draconic than most highborn…" Maleficent noted mostly to herself and the blond rolled his eyes.

"**And you seem too human to be a dragonkin. Half-orc maybe, or even half-goblin, but I'd almost never believe you were part dragon."** The blond retorted and Maleficent inclined her head, admitting he had a point given her complexion.

"True, but regardless you have freed me, let us make haste and deal with these drow before speaking further. As I said I am Maleficent, but for the time being you may refer to me as simply Mal." The green girl offered and Naruto silently nodded his head the group turning as they heard the sounds of the drow regrouping. "And it seems we have little time to waste." She noted and Naruto grunted while kicking the drow girl forward again.

"**Move it girl…"** Naruto ordered and she quickly moved over to the doors leading to the central chamber, Tali looking to Wrex worriedly.

"Is it just me, or does he seem really angry…" The faun questioned and Wrex silently shrugged. "Okay, just saying…" She mumbled while Wrex ignored her and walked over to the blond as he had his greens pry open the door to the antechamber…

(Unknown…)

Jiraiya of the Sannin let out a slight shiver as he pulled his Haori closer for warmth. The white haired man had decided to check out a few rumors in Nami-no-Kuni about human trafficking. While the likelihood of Naruto being among those deported, it was the only solid lead Jiraiya currently had. Besides, Nami was the only port in Fire-Nation for another country to dock with besides Sui-no-Kuni, and they were in the middle of a civil war.

That is why Jiraiya had found himself on a ship heading for Nami, and freezing his ass off at the same time. Hi-no-Kuni had never been known for such cold winters. In all his fifty years of life the white haired man had never felt one so cold either. At least not in Hi-no-Kuni, Yukie-no-Kuni was pretty much known for snow, and Kaze-no-kuni was in a desert where the nights were practically freezing.

'_But it's not just the cold giving me chills…'_ Jiraiya thought to himself while glancing to a strange man at the other side of the boat. The man was covered head to toe in clothes, not one bit of skin visible. He was primarily covered in a long white overcoat with a black border that reached to his ankles with cuffed sleeves and a hood brought over his head. Other than that he seemed to have a black mask over his face, simple dark grey slacks, black knee length leather boots with straps to tighten them down, and a brown belt with three pouches.

Oddly enough he also had armor, but it was limited to the black gloves with metal fingers, steel pauldrons with a leather harness overtop his coat. He carried no weapons however and judging by his size Jiraiya highly doubted he was a shinobi, even with his odd attire; he seemed more like a scholar or some kind of civilian.

But then again, the man's mere presence set Jiraiya on unease. As soon as he saw him upon boarding the boat, Jiraiya felt an inexplicable urge to run. He didn't feel like being anywhere close to the man, as if his very presence was lethal. But he had to find Naruto, and stomaching the strange man was probably the simplest of his trials to do so.

"So, got a name?" Jiraiya questioned while looking to the strange being and felt his heart stop. The man's "eyes" suddenly opened, a pair of glowing slimy green eyes opening within the shadows of his hood. He stared at Jiraiya, stared intently for several long moments of absolute silence. The old nin felt no small amount of unease, in fact he felt even more worried as the man's attention was placed solely upon him.

"Necrosis." The man uttered as little more than a whisper, causing Jiraiya to shiver almost violently. The man just gave off an aura of dread and fear, not to mention it seemed as if the man's mere presence invited the cold with him.

"Uh… that's a strange name." Jiraiya noted while scratching his cheek, his eyes belying his nervousness in the strange man's presence. "So… where are you from?" The white haired man asked nervously and Necrosis eyed him for a moment.

"I hail from a land known as Mincrahtia." He replied curtly and Jiraiya raised a brow.

"Minecraftia?" He asked and the man palmed his face with a groan.

"No, Min Cra Tia." He growled out and Jiraiya made an oh with his mouth and looked away from the man awkwardly.

"So what brings you out this way?" Jiraiya tried and watched the crimson pools of molten light slide shut within the shadows of Necrosis hood.

"I'm looking for my pet…" The man replied simply, his voice and tone cold and unfeeling. "She was captured by men working for a man named Gato." Necrosis added and a bit of annoyance slipped into his tone.

"Must be some pet to come from your country for it." Jiraiya noted aloud and yet Necrosis let out a grunt and crossed his arms.

"Not really, I just despise anyone stealing from me." Necrosis replied and glanced to the waters. "In truth, it wouldn't be all that hard to have a new Pet, but it takes time and effort to train them, which I sadly do not have much of." Necrosis continued in that same dull monotone and Jiraiya nodded his head in understanding.

"Yeah I hear ya. But still, isn't that less of a hassle than coming all this way for your pet?" Jiraiya questioned and Necrosis briefly considered the white haired man's words before a frown crossed his hidden features.

"No, because then people will start to steal from me and expect no consequences for their foolish actions." The hooded figure replied darkly, and Jiraiya let out a nervous chuckle as he watched green steam waft from within Necrosis's hood.

"Well I guess I can understand that much. But I gotta know buddy, what kind of pet is this thing you're out here looking for?" Jiraiya questioned and Necrosis merely narrowed his eyes in response.

"I fail to see how that is any business of yours." The man replied crisply, and Jiraiya let out a groan and palmed his face in response.

"I'm wondering 'cause Gato wouldn't just steal a pet for no good reason unless the thing was like really rare or valuable. I might be able to help you find it if he's trying to sell it." Jiraiya replied and Necrosis hummed and reached up to rub at his chin, before he nodded his head in agreement with the man.

"I suppose you have a point sir… and there is rather little I have to gain by shunning your assistance." The hooded man mused and then slowly nodded his head. "She is a Ghoul." Necrosis replied and caused Jiraiya to look at him in confusion.

"Okay… what's a ghoul?" Jiraiya questioned, then felt his lips curl as he tried to get used to the strange word.

"It is a living corpse that devours the flesh of the living or dead… I animated her and kept her around as a companion because Mincrahtia is rather barren of other sentient life and I felt the urge to keep her around." The hooded man explained casually while leaving Jiraiya with a positively horrified expression on his face.

"You… animated a corpse… that eats people?" Jiraiya questioned worriedly, Necrosis giving a curt nod in response while pulling a strange device from one of his many pouches.

"Indeed I did, however I took the time and effort to make her a bit smarter than the average Ghoul. She's has the IQ level of… well… a tamed Wolf at best. She refuses to bite me; however everyone else is still fair game as far as she's concerned." Necrosis continued to explain and watched as Jiraiya shivered almost violently.

"I'm not sure what I find more disturbing, you animating a corpse because you're lonely, or Gato actually wanting to steal it!" Jiraiya thought with obvious disgust and Necrosis rolled his eyes in response.

"Well actually, I think he thought she was a normal human." Necrosis admitted which of course got Jiraiya's attention. "My pet was designed to be a loyal and obedient companion, thus she is in no way a true "Corpse". It took me some years but I eventually made her body as alive as physically possible, incapable of rotting or aging, yet still just as immortal and undying as any other Undead." Necrosis explained to the white haired man who was just as disturbed now as he had been before.

"Wait… she's immortal… what'll happen to her when you die?" The white haired man questioned warily and Necrosis hummed in thought for a moment.

"I suppose she would be distraught, I am quite literally god in her eyes, she might even go on a psychotic rampage until someone finally manages to put her down… of course the likelihood of my death is practically a non-issue I still understand your concern." Necrosis replied with that same casual monotone that was was really starting to bug Jiraiya to no end.

"What do you mean it's a non-issue?" Jiraiya questioned of Necrosis warily and the man pondered how to answer for only a moment.

"I suppose a demonstration is in order." He finally decided while reaching to his side and unsheathed a Diamond-Sword, not tipped or studded but a full length blade MADE OUT OF DIAMOND, from… somewhere.

"Whoa! Where the hell did you get that?!" Jiraiya demanded with his jaw left agape, the hooded man silently rolling his eyes as he then turned the blade to his chest over his heart.

"Just shut up and watch…" Necrosis grumbled while pushing the blade through his chest until the hilt was holding him from pushing it any farther. Jiraiya watched with his jaw left agape as Necrosis didn't scream or make the slightest motion that he was in any sort of pain. The hooded man instead moved his arm at an odd angle and started to push the sword out of his chest from behind. Once it was pushed out a sufficient length the man grasped the handle and pulled it from his chest with a disgusting squelching sound.

Jiraiya looked to the wound with wide eyes, instantly he noted that the blood from it was all wrong. Not only was it far too dark, it was also clumpy and slimy as it flowed only a short distance from the wound. _'His blood is already coagulated like a… like a corpse…'_ The white haired man realized while Necrosis then sheathed his sword before he waved a hand over his wound. A sickly green miasma was released from his hand as he did, which then flowed into the open wound, forced it shut, and somehow repaired his clothes along with the wound…

Staring at Necrosis in no small amount of shock and even a little fear, Jiraiya looked to the man warily and asked. "What the hell are you?" The man in questioned silently tilted his head to the side for a moment, before he answered the man honestly.

"My name is Necrosis, and I am an Undead Necromancer."

(With Gimli…)

"Attack!" The Grey-Dwarf ruler exclaimed as he charged forward, a hodgepodge of male and female Duergar at his back. Ducking under a swing of a sword, the warrior swung an Axe into the face of a drow. Grinning darkly he then swung his other arm, a second axe burying itself into the chest of a drow when he did. Laughing out loud the dark-dwarf then kicked the first Drow's body back and sliced the second's head from his shoulder.

"Now dis is what I'm talking a bou'!" The Duergar declared loudly while his soldiers lunged into the fray with him. Spotting more Drow ahead of them the leader grinned darkly while looking to the back of his forces ranks. "Alrigh', Mortar Squad move forward and burn those bastards away!" Gimli ordered and several teams of Duergar flung several mortars forward, burning the drow alive. "Ye bloody drow never learned to take de' heat did ye!" Gimli chortled as the Drow began to make a hasty retreat.

"Keep on 'em lads and lassies! We won' be lettin' d'ose Drow get away alive!" Gimli declared and received a roar of approval as the Duergar lunged forward killing Drow left and right. Chuckling under his breath, Gimli marched forward before scowling at a young Duergar who could barely pick up the Flamethrower he was carrying. "Lad if'n ye can' even lift that thing then go to a mortar squad and help 'em!" Gimli ordered and the young Duegar did so quickly.

Scoffing at the youth the Duergar looked up in time to see a Drow coming down on top of him. Growling the Duergar shot several long spines from his bead, each of them piercing the Drow's flesh before he reached him. The drow landed with a cry of pain before Gimli quickly slammed an axe down through his head. "Oi, they're naught but a right bunch a weaklings! Move in lads!" Gimli ordered while pointing an Axe to a room at the far side of the corridor.

Picking up the unused flamethrower himself, Gimli followed with his troops. Slinging the massive tank over his shoulders and onto his back Gimli grinned as he saw the Drow continue to retreat. Marching forward as they continued to drive the Drow back, Gimli then braced himself as several of his people were suddenly sent flying back.

"Sorceress!" Came the sudden cry of someone still on the front line, several of the Duergar running back only for Gimli to kick one of them to the ground. Glaring down at the Duegar with disgust, the stout Duergar narrowed his eyes and glared up at the rest of the cowards.

"Oi ye cowards! Which would ye rather fight, her… or me!?" Gimli demanded while aiming the barrel of his flamethrower there way. It was unanimous, as one the Duergar ran back at the Sorceress for the attack. "Mortar teams, move in and pelt her from afar, Flame units we're movin' for de kill, anyone with shields left get in front of us so we don't die before she does!" Gimli snarled while running forward with three other Duergar hauling Flamethrowers.

The Sorceress opposed to them quickly sent out a wall of force at them. Gimli braced himself and shuddered as the raw many managed to shove him back several inches. He wasn't alone as the other flame thrower-units slid back as well. While the lighter and weaker flamethrower units were sent flying back and exploded in the distance. Growling lowly Gimli weathered the force until it finally let up, several warriors moving ahead with shields to protect them.

"Alright lads, move in!" Gimli ordered as the Duergar marched forward, the Sorceress now flanked by several archers. Narrowing their eyes the Archers fired at the Duergar, those with Shields blocking as best they could. However the Mortar Teams had better luck as they started flinging bombs at the sorceress and archers. The Sorceress quickly conjured a shield around herself, but the Archers weren't so lucky.

Some died on the spot, others were sent flying back, breaking bones and leaving them covered in burns, still more were simply set on fire, screaming and thrashing about in pain. Chuckling darkly Gimli and his troops continued to move forward, before the leader of the Duergar had a sudden idea. "Mortar team, hit 'em wit' something flammable!" The Leader of the Duergar ordered and his troops seemed confused only momentarily before following orders.

Viles of a strange fluid were flung at the archers and Sorceress, and ignited by those still on fire, spreading the blaze even further. The Sorceress was soon completely surrounded by flames on all side. Her breathing grew heavy, her body was producing a heavy coat of sweat, and her magic was strained to hold back the roaring flames. It would not be enough to save her from what Gimli had in mind.

"Alrigh' let's light her up!" Gimli declared with a laugh while unleashing a torrent of fire from his Flamethrower. He was followed by the other Duergar, each flame-unit unleashing a torrent of fire at the Sorceress, blocked by her wall of magic. However she quickly fell to her knees, the heat from the flames all but boiling her within her magical prison, the fierce light their produced hurting her eyes and leaving her vulnerable.

Her concentration soon ran out as she could no longer hold up against the strain, her body collapsed forward before she was consumed by the flames. Gimli chortled as he walked passed the flaming debris of what had been several Drow, then waved his troops forward to the door the Drow had hid behind. "C'mon now! Lets get dese bloody Drow out a our home!" Gimli ordered and the Duergar hurried forward alongside their leader.

Entering the room, Gimli looked around to see high walls with peopled chained to them, ramps leading up to the people beside of the door. It also looked like something new had been added to the center of the room, but Gimli couldn't identify it. Narrowing his eyes the leader of the Duergar growled when he spotted a Duergar muttering to himself surrounded by Drow.

"Dugan! I shou'd a known a weasely little devil like ye would be behind this!" Gimli roared furiously and the goggled Duergar turned towards him and started to shake violently.

"I'm n-not a weasel! And I only helped them because I should've been lord, not you!" Dungan shouted at the stout Duergar Leader, Gimli scoffing and looking at him with a sneer.

"Now dat's a right lie! I was chosen fair and square, though maybe if ye weren't such a bloody coward ye would've stood a chance." Gimli retorted and Dungan shook with rage, his eyes nearly popping from his head.

"I don't care! It was my birthright, my father was lord and his father before him, I deserved to be the lord not a bloody half-breed like you!" Dugan shouted and Gimli's eyes narrowed onto him dangerously.

"Oh now ye be playin' at a dangerous game Dugan, I don't take insults lightly." Gimli growled and Dungan twitched before hopping into a seat.

"I don't care! This time I'll prove I'm better than you!" Dugan shouted manically, pulling a leaver and causing the entire room began to shake. A metal plate slammed shut overtop him, leaving a single large slit for him to see out of.

"What's going on?!" A nearby Duergar demanded while struggling to stand, Gimli watching on and widening his eyes as a massive machine started to rise up. The strange machine was made from brass, wood, and steel. It stood on wheels and had two clunky arms at its sides with strange devices built into them, a large boiler on its back and a now helmet like covering forming the head of the mech and protecting Dugan.

"What the bloody hell is that?!" Gimli demanded while a pair of arms folded from the machine's sides.

"This was a gift from my new employers! And with it, I'm finally going to crush you!" Dugan shouted loudly and Gimli rolled his eyes.

"Oh aye, your real tough when ye have a giant bloody robot!" Gimli grumbled angrily while Dugan swung one of the machine's arms down at him. Cursing loudly Gimli quickly got out of the way, his troops following him as he snarled at Dugan. The goggled Duergar on the other hand ignored that as he raised the arm of his mech and aimed it at Gimli.

"Die Die die!" He crowed while bullets were sent flying from a tube on the mech's forearm.

"Oi shut up already, would ye!?" Gimli demanded while evading the bullets, his troops not fairing so well as he managed to get close enough to the mech that it couldn't shoot at him. Turning and looking around the corner as the mech approached, Gimli scowled deeply. "Mortar teams get to da high ground and blow dat ting apart already!" Gimli roared and the Mortar Teams moved quickly to do as ordered. The teams ran the ramps on either side of the room while Dugan stubbornly focused on Gimli.

The Mortar Teams made their way up the ramps slowly so as not to draw any attention from Dugan. However the Drow that had been with him ran towards them, protecting the mech's blindspot. "Let's turn up the heat!" A flamethrower carrying Duergar cried while lunging passed the mortar teams and unleashing a torrent of flame at the Drow. The Dark Skinned Elves cried out in pain as the flames consumed them, quickly burning them while the Mortar Team and Duergar "Pyro" continued to march forward.

"All my life I've played second fiddle to you! No matter what I did you always beat me, you were always bigger or stronger and I'm just sick of it!" Dugan snarled while a flamethrower in his arm shot a stream of flames at Gimli. The Duergar's leader quickly lunged out of the way, dropping his own flamethrower in the process. The device exploded behind him when he did, the force sending him skidding to the side while Dugan grinned manically.

"I'll crush you!" Dugan roared at Gimli wildly, then pulled several leavers and sent the massive mech sliding forward. A jet of fire trailed behind the mech as Gimli cried out while running out of the way as the mech slammed into a wall and wobbled. "No! Dammit! Work you stupid thing!" Dugan's voice called out from inside of the mech, causing Gimli no small amount of annoyance.

"Doesn't he ever shut up?" Gimli grumbled while rising up and pulling his Axes free. "Listen you stupid bloody sod, I was never tryin' ter be better than ye, I just was! So get over it!" Gimli shouted while throwing one of the axes at the massive machine. His axe soared from his hand smashing into one of the gears made up into the machines arm and causing it to halt. "Ha! Got it!" Gimli crowed before cursing and running as Dugan started shooting more bullets at him.

"Hold still and die!" Dugan snarled while keeping the pressure on the leader of the Duergar. Huffing and puffing, Gimli continued to run from the hail of bullets before grabbing a shield from a dead Duergar from the ground. Rolling forward Gimli ducked beneath the shield as Dugan continued to fire on him. The metal shield head strong against the bullets, but as he took stock of his surroundings, Gimli frowned.

"I'm gonna need to get 'em closer to de mortar teams…" The Duergar mumbled to himself before spotting more Drow heading for the Mortar Teams. However the Pyro's with them kept the Drow off of the Mortar Teams, incinerating the dark-elves who were dumb enough to get too close to them. However Gimli then realized Dugan had ceased firing arrows at him and looked out in time for one of the mech's arms to knock him to the side.

Groaning in pain, Gimli pushed himself to his feet and looked to Dugan. The Duergar then widened his eyes seeing it sliding towards him once more. Cursing and running out of the way of the mech, Gimli hissed while falling to one knee. "Aw bloody 'ell, dis ain't no time fer me to be hurt." Gimli groaned out while limping away while Dugan managed to turn his mech back towards him, completely missing the Mortar Team as they and the Pyro's approached his back.

Seeing the injured leader of the Duergar, Dugan grinned manically while aiming the mechs arm at him once more. Aiming his gun arm the mad Duergar fired at him, only for one of the other Duergar below to pull Gimli behind a wall of shields. Snarling furiously, a mad twitch to his eye Dugan continued to fire at the wall of metal shields futilely. "Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!" Dugan snarled while the mortar teams looked at one another and shook their heads.

"He's completely ignoring us, isn't he?" One of them noted and the others nodded their heads before quickly lobbed a few bombs at the boiler on the mech's back. The Mortar teams then ran away, leaving Dugan to his fate as he continued trying to crush, burn, or shoot Gimli. When Dugan heard a sudden hiss from his Boiler the Duergar turned in time to see the mortars about to go off, his eyes widening.

"Oh no…" He muttered just before the mortars and the mech's boiler exploded. Debris was sent flying in all directions, the Duergar quickly having to avoid its formerly internal mechanisms. The Duergar somehow managed to survive however, and he was sent flying along with the helmet like metal cap that made the "Head" of the mech. The cap soon landed on the ground with a bang, Dugan in it shaking like a leaf and hanging on for dear life.

"Oh c'mon! How de bloody hell did he survive dat?!" One of the other Duergar demanded and Gimli muttered about "the devils Luck". Exhaling a breath the Duergar Lord then stomped over to Dugan and grabbed him up into a headlock. Limping off with the man struggling against his arm, Gimli glared at Dugan furiously.

"Oh Dugan you are in real trouble dis time!" Gimli growled while dragging the other Duergar over to the remainder of his troops, including a rather large number of women. "Alright den Lads and Lassies, do me a favor and kill this blood git." Gimli grumbled while tossing the Duergar over to the group who grinned darkly.

"Our pleasure sir!" One of them replied while kicking Dugan in the face, followed by Someone body-slamming into the Duergar. Ignoring his men, and the women, as they tore apart a now screaming Dugan, Gimli limped his way up the ramp and looked at the people who had been chained to the walls with a frown. The first of them was odd, being scaly and tall with clawed hands and judging by the shriveled dry body, completely drained of blood.

"Oh ah got a bad feelin' 'bout dis." Gimli muttered before he checked the others, realization soon setting in as his eyes widened. "D'ere… D'ere all High Born Dragon Kin." He whispered to himself while turning to where his men were with a scowl. "And dey all had d'ere blood drained." He grumbled as he tried to piece together what was going on. "Could de Vampires be behind dis little invasion then? But where did dey get the Dragonkin in the first place?" Gimli pondered as he bit his thumb nail and limped back down the ramp.

"Milord?" One of his troops questioned while Gimli clicked his tongue.

"C'mon, we need ter find de Overlord, ah got a bad feeling he's gettin' himself into more trouble 'en he knows." Gimli ordered and the other Duergar nodded their heads and marched out, one of them helping him limp out and leaving a beaten bloody corpse that once belonged to Dugan behind, a hammer having been used to crush his skull… But as the Duergar left the room there was clearly something wrong. Namely that no one noticed one of the bodies was missing…

(With Naruto…)

Naruto marched into the main chamber of the keep, his eyes narrowed dangerously. Wrex and the others had hung back to ensure no one entered into the chamber, while also keeping their prisoner on a short leash. Naruto honestly couldn't care less about her anymore; all he had on his mind was killing Eclavice and heading home for a nice long rest. He took a quick look around, and briefly admired his soon to be battleground.

It was a large hall, at the end of which was a raised set of stairs leading to a throne, over which was a Baldachin with what Naruto assumed was the symbol of Duegar. _'Unless The Drow put their own up…'_ Naruto admitted inwardly while walking along a carpet towards the throne and glancing to either side. At the sides of the room were torches, each of them between simple columns of stone, which served to raise balconies.

Turning from the sights of the room itself, Naruto focused on Eclavice as she sat in the Duegar Throne. Said throne was a simple thing, being little more than a stone chair with a cushion and red cloth draped over it. Eclavice on the other hand bore an annoyed scowl, her eyes narrowed and the fingers of her right hand drumming along the rest of the throne. The Drow Wench was also wearing Naruto's crown, much to his anger, and held the Blade of Plun-Darr in the other hand which rested against her cheek.

'_Now we put an end to this game.'_ Naruto thought with a growl, approaching the throne silently while Eclavice ceased drumming her fingers. The young Overlord then stopped in front of Eclavice, his own eyes narrowed behind his mask. "Hello Eclavice… looks like you should've killed me when you still had a chance." Naruto noted flatly, the Drow Priestess giving only a slight flinch before pushing herself from the throne.

"And you shouldn't underestimate me, Child." The woman noted sternly and twirled The Blade of Plun-Darr in hand for a moment. "I didn't take the title of Priestess merely for my beauty; my power is unrivaled among my people." The woman continued while swinging The Blade of Plun-Darr and causing a pair of machete like blades to form, lightning arching along their lengths. Naruto let out a low chuckle at that and silently flexed his hands at his sides.

"Power or not, I'm truly going to **enjoy killing you."** Naruto growled out, his eyes turning a bright burning red. The Priestess wasted no more words quickly lunging at the young Overlord with a swing of The Blade. Naruto quickly flipped back and out of the way of the blade, landing on all fours and narrowing his eyes. Raising his arms the blond formed lightning over each before swinging them and sent out a whip like tail from his hands.

Cartwheeling out of the way of the whips as the blond tried to catch her; Eclavice then formed a ball of magic in her hand and sent it flying at the young Overlord. The youth tried to dodge it, however his eyes widened as the ball of magic changed course and followed after him. _'What the hell!?'_ Naruto mentally demanded while running and then kicking off of a wall to cause the ball of magic to slam into the wall instead of him.

"Like it, it's called "Magic Missile"." Eclavice's voice purred from beside his ear, Naruto's eyes widening a fraction of a second before he felt a searing pain at his back. Moments later the blond was sent flying into the wall face first, Eclavice hand glowing with energy while the young Overlord in training pushed his way back onto his feet. "Best part of Magic Missile, it's rather simple to cast." Eclavice mused while forming ten spheres of energy which swirled around her body before she sent them flying toward the youth.

Grunting in pain, Naruto quickly moved out of the way of one of the balls of magic, then cursed as another impacted with his side. Skidding to a halt Naruto snarled and lunged out of the way of the next Sphere of Magic, only for it and several more to follow after him. Thinking quickly the blond slid on his heel and then lunged toward Eclavice herself, jumping over her and kicking her into her own attack.

However Naruto was shocked when he saw that the sphere's harmlessly passed through the woman, and then slammed into him. Groaning in pain, Naruto looked to Eclavice, and scowled when he found her laughing at him. "Such a simple boy…" She noted with a shake of her head and held up her hand, a ghastly green glow forming over her fingers. "Magic is the life-essence of all things, and to each person it's unique, as such my spells cannot harm me." Eclavice explained mockingly, then swung her arm and sent a wave of poisonous fumes towards Naruto.

Cursing under his breath, Naruto opened his wings and shot into the air to avoid the poison, his breathing coming faster as he found his blood practically boiling in fury. _'This bitch is seriously pissing me off!'_ Naruto all but roared in his mind, then watched as Eclavice began to float from the ground, glowing runes swirling around her body while she looked at Naruto with a smirk.

"Poor poor "UnderLord"…" She noted with a tsk, Naruto gritting his teeth at the mocking tittle. "Barely able to fight me and thinks he'll be able to destroy Noble." She noted dryly, Naruto snarling and forming fireballs in his palms.

"**Would you please shut the fuck up already!?"** Naruto demanded while hurling the spheres of fire at the priestess, only for her to quickly form a magical shield to block them. Shaking her head for a moment, Eclavice then lunged at the blond while forming a ball of magic into her hand. Releasing the sphere in Naruto's face she sent the youth flying back with a cry. The young Overlord skidded back along the floor before coming to a stop with a groan.

Naruto felt his fury grow even more, the anger he'd been feeling since Eclavice had paralyzed him was burning hotter and hotter. Watching the Drow land and look at him with a bored expression, Naruto felt his muscles tense. "Is that all child? I was hoping for more of a challenge." Eclavice stated and gave the boy an icy stare. Naruto merely pushed off the ground onto his feet, an eerie black haze slowly forming around his body.

Seeing this, Eclavice smirked and then formed several more spheres of magic around her body before sending them flying at the young Overlord. The youth however formed balls of fire into his hands and shot back, hurling the fireballs at the magic missiles. The two spells impacted with one another kicked up several clouds of dust. Eclavice merely kept her eyes open and moved to the side as Naruto came at her with a lightning whip.

"Now that's more like it." She noted and licked her lips, twisted on her heel and lunged at the blond with The Blade of Plun-Darr. Eclavice moved with incredible speed and swung the lightning coated blade at the blond. Naruto easily evaded her first strike by flipping out of the way, however Eclavice turned on her heel and swung at the blond once more. This time the Young Overlord melted into a shadow to avoid a fatal attack. Naruto then slithered up along The Priestess Body, still as a shadow, before a hand of darkness suddenly clutched at her throat.

Eyes widening the Priestess formed more lightning along The Blade of Plun-Darr. The light from the blade forced Naruto to release his grip on her. The shadowy Overlord formed overhead his wings flapping to allow him to hover in the air. Watching one another carefully, The Overlord and Priestess considered their options before Naruto chuckled and sank into the shadows once more. Eclavice quickly looked all around in an attempt to keep him from sneaking up on her.

However she wasn't prepared for what came at her.

With a sudden surge of shadows a massive cleaver like blade was formed from overhead and brought to bear down upon her. Eyes wide Eclavice quickly lunged out of the way of the cleaver, barely escaping the blade as it sliced into the stone of the ground, crushing that it didn't cut. Breathing quickening, the Drow Priestess looked back only long enough to watch it fade into shadows once more.

Her reprieve was short-lived however as numerous spears of Darkness formed out of the ground and started towards her in waves. Eyes wide the Priestess muttered a spell under her breath before pushing herself up and into the air. Waving a hand runes seemed to form in the air around her and she held in mid-air. Looking down as her magic held her safe from harm, she watched as the spears suddenly formed from every part of the floor to keep her in the air.

Eclavice quickly scanned the chamber for The Young Overlord; however she was given little time before he made his next move. The spears that had been around the room suddenly changed, quickly forming hundreds of chains that shot out in all directions. Eclavice tried to follow the multitude of chains however was quickly ensnared in their grasp instead. The Drow Priestess snarled and struggled against her bonds, glaring anywhere and everywhere for the Overlord.

"_**Welcome to my parlor, said the spider to the fly."**_ Naruto's now inhuman voice suddenly echoed out across the Throne-Room. Eclavice snarled in response looking all around for the blond yet never seeing him.

"Where are you brat!? Do you really think that these cheap tricks will stop me!?" The woman demanded only to find a claw grasping at her throat. From several of the shadowy chains Naruto's mask formed. And as the priestess stared at the mask, she soon found a pair of hellish eyes glaring into her own.

But these eyes were nothing like the red or even the blue that she'd seen before, no, these were far more horrible. They seemed almost pitch black at a glance, deep and empty, yet as it glared into her eyes she saw a long thin slit of red. That one slit did not appear natural however; it was not a red that looked as blood, but a red opening, a gate into hell through a pit of suffering within a deep dark horrible void…

"_**Cheap? Ha! You know nothing, wench."**_ The inhuman voice mocked while the mask started to slither along the chains before halting on a bulbous mass. The mask then cracked, forming a long crack at the jaw which soon became an inhuman Glasgow grin. Golden thread seemed to form out of nothing, holding the two pieces of mask together and allowing the jaw to suddenly move as if under its own power.

More than a little unnerved by what she was seeing, Eclavice glared at her bonds before forcing lightning to form along The Blade of Plun-Darr. The light caused the shadow-chains to release her wrist and she quickly cut her other arm free. _**"Not so fast…"**_ The inhuman voice from before came and Eclavice suddenly shrieked as the chains grew sharp spikes all along their length, easily tearing through her flesh.

Gritting her teeth Eclavice tried to swing The Blade of Plun-Darr to free herself of the thorn laiden chains, however more wrapped around her arm several times over, impaling her arm in a plethora of sharp spikes. The Drow Priestess felt fear, pure fear as the bulbous mass the mask had been at started to lengthen, the mask suddenly approaching her. _**"Did you really think you were getting away so easily?"**_ The mask questioned as hellish eyes started forming all around her, hundreds of them appearing all at once, glaring at her, judging her.

"_**I'm not done with you yet!"**_ The voice hissed in a cold whisper as the chains started to wrap around her legs, binding them together and releasing the rest of her body. With her arms free, Eclavice prepared to cut herself down, only for the chains to quickly swing her around, slamming her into the walls and floor. Eclavice let out a strangled cry as she was slammed into the ceiling then brutally smashed into the throne.

Letting out a pathetic whimper, the Drow Priestess pushed herself up, and stared at the bulbous shadowy mass that slithered with hundreds of chains. The chains suddenly started to coil together, forming into three massive limbs from the single bulbous mass. _**"Now… the fun really starts…"**_ That same deep ominous voice uttered in a low guttural voice as a pair of massive wings formed from the bulbous mass.

Eclavice let out a whimper, slowly dragging her body away as the mass became something even more terrifying. And worse still, it was recognizable as well. The massive of chains slowly had their spikes form into a centralized row on what passed as it's "Back", two of the masses of chains formed enormous claws at their ends, which started to dig and tear out chunks of stone from the balconies. The Bulbous mass that started it all suddenly lengthened into a neck which ended with a narrow horned object that reared up into the air.

Eclavice soon found her back to a wall and pushed as far back as she could go, eyes wide the pair of hellish eyes opened at the head of the shadowy abomination. The shadows at its head then started to pull apart, a hellish maw of flames opening into a fearsome roar that echoed out, not only in the throne-room, but all throughout the Duergar Keep in its entirety. Its body complete, the Dragon suddenly slithered forward, its body comprised only of a long snake like body with a head, two arms and two wings which scraped at the sides of the massive throne-room.

And as it approached the cowering Drow, the shadows began to recede, revealing scales the color of polished ivory. Streaks of black dotted its body here and there, while its heavily armored underbelly was a dark purple in color, a series of Shadow-gems formed into the shape of a love heart at its chest the only difference in color. Eclavice sat in wide eyed gaping silence at the beast that now towered above her, easily reaching forty feet long from snout to tail, yet still appearing immature…

"_**You will suffer!"**_ The Dragon roared while lunging at Eclavice, the Drow Priestess pulling herself out of the way of its head as it smashed through the throne with ease. Sobbing and crawling away fearfully, the Drow Priestess shrieked when a massive ivory arm tipped with shining silver claws stood in her way. Her eyes widened as she heard a low trill, her body shook and shivered and she turned to face a now _**grinning**_ white dragon.

"_**You're mine…"**_ The dragon uttered before its lunging forward and snapping its jaws shut on her right foot. Eclavice gave a shriek of pain as bone was crushed, flesh was pierced, and the dragon silently pulled her into the air with that evil grin still stretched across its face. Blood leaked from her wounds, her foot producing the greatest amount as it slid down her body. Flailing wildly, Eclavice tried to stab the dragon with The Blade of Plun-Darr, only to whimper as it didn't even manage to pierce its scales.

"_**Worthless toy…"**_ It sneered while flicking the weapon with its tail and then reared its head up and opened its jaws. Eclavice went flailing into the air before the dragon suddenly lashed out with its wings and pinned her to the wall. Looking at the dragon weakly, pure terror in her eyes, the Drow Priestess whimpered and sobbed as only hate shown within the dragon's hellish orbs.

"W-What are you…" The Priestess whimpered half choked by the dragon's wings pinning her torso to the wall. The Dragon merely let out a snort at the question, still grinning at her.

"_**I am The Void."**_ He uttered in a deep rumbling voice that shook the stones in the room more than its thunderous footfalls could. The dragon let out a low growl, purple miasma forming with its jaws which it then blew to the side with a guttural miasma surged forth like a terrible storm, searing stone and causing it to boil and melt away until nothing was left but a dripping puddle of refuse. Now utterly and completely terrified the Drow Priestess looked back to the grinning dragon fearfully, tears flowing from wide eyes.

"P-Please don't…" She whimpered only to give an inhuman scream as the dragon lashed out, snapped its jaws shut on her right arm and pulled…

(Meanwhile…)

Tali, Wrex, The Rooks, Minions, Void-Walker, and Mal had remained behind to guard the antechamber leading into the Throne-Room. The Drow Naruto captured was currently being watched by Tali, who was hanging back with The Minions. The Minions were stationed beside of the doorway leading to the Throne-Room to guard it. However that first thunderous roar had not only shook the keep, left Their Drow Prisoner absolutely terrified, but also alerted all the Drow guards that something was attacking their priestess.

Drow practically poured into the Antechamber by the dozens, The Void-Walker and Rooks were the first to meet them in battle. The Rooks used their armored bulk to knock the lighter Drow around however were quickly overwhelmed by sheer numbers. The Void-Walker did its best as well, but again their numbers proved to be too much for it to handle. Frowning for a moment, Wrex then lunged into the fray as well, using his massive ax and great strength to tear through their numbers and rescue his allies.

Slamming his axe into a Drow running towards him the massive Lizard quickly swung his body, lashing out with his tail and knocking several Drow back. Lunging at the Rook's, Wrex grabbed one Drow and killed another to lessen the firsts load. With the weight of the two Drow off of its back, the Rook lurched forward before throwing its arms to the sides to dislodge the other Drow with it. Now free, The Rook moved to assist its fellow Rook, knocking the Drow off of its back which allowed it to throw The Drow from its arms.

With The Rooks now free Wrex let out a snarl as he lunged forward and knocked The Drow off of The Void-Walker. Free The Shadowy being slipped away and reformed at a distance, The Rooks also pulling back. Wrex let out a low growl from his throat and backed up as well. While confident in himself he wasn't stupid enough to charge headlong into dozens of Drow with no possibility of backup.

'_We need a plan.'_ Wrex thought to himself, before glancing back as he heard a sudden shriek from inside The Throne-Room. _'And we really need to figure out what the hell is going on in there.'_ Wrex thought before head-butting a Drow and falling back to regroup with his allies, Maleficent giving them a withering glare. "What are you looking at?" Wrex grumbled at the green skinned DragonKin smirked before glancing at the mass of Drow.

"Nothing, now watch and learn…" She replied in a decidedly condescending manner, which brought a growl from Wrex. Ignoring the massive Lizard Maleficent then twisted on her heel and threw out her arm, lightning arching from her staff and surging out through the masses of Drow. Those who could get out of the way did, yet still more began to come forward, The Rooks saw an opportunity and suddenly placed themselves directly beside of Maleficent as guards.

Seeing The Rooks idea The Void-Walker and Wrex moved into position beside of them, forming a defensive wall to keep the mass of Drow back. Maleficent continued to cast spell after spell to hold the mass back, her lightning and chain-lightning spell seemed to do minimal damage on the numbers of the Drow, allowing many to get through to them. As her new guards dealt with The Drow who got through Maleficent quickly decided to change up to spells designed for multiple targets.

Mentally running through a list of the spells at her disposal, Maleficent spun her staff before pushing her hand forward. The action created a gale of wind, the force of it blowing back several Drow, yet never injuring them badly enough to stop them. Cursing under her breath Maleficent then held out her staff with both hands before swinging the weapon and sending a long arching blade of Darkness at the Drow.

The first few were cut in half by the attack; however the Drow behind them quickly ducked down and continued forward. The Sorceress quickly changed tactics and slammed her staff down into the ground. This caused the earth to shake for a moment before breaking the ground in front of them into deep chasms to keep The Drow Back. Again it worked for a moment, but The Drow were nothing if not stubbornly persistent.

Scowling, Maleficent considered all her options before slamming the butt of her staff into the ground once more. This time she created jagged spikes that tore into the first line of Drow, yet again those behind them kept coming. Thankfully their numbers were dwindling now, but it was still far from a fair fight. "We're only holding them back by the skin of our teeth! Don't you have anything more effective!?" Wrex demanded of the DragonKin and Maleficent looked at him with a furious snarl.

"Just shut up and hold back any who get through!" Maleficent roared at the Lizard before bringing her staff down and waving a hand over the sphere at the top. Muttering a spell under her breath she then brought the butt of the staff down on the ground yet again. This time she created a mass of thorns between them and The Drow. The last spell was holding them back longer than the others, yet they were quickly cutting their way through the thorns to reach them.

"I repeat, got any better tricks?" Wrex growled at Maleficent while stomping on one of The Drow who had actually gotten through. Maleficent felt her brow twitch wildly as she considered her options, however while she knew Drow were highly susceptible to fire magic, her only fire spells were actually designed for single targets. That is, unless she uses that of course…

"I would suggest you all get as far back as you can, I'll deal with the rest myself." Maleficent stated coldly her eyes focused on the oncoming Drow.

"Are you crazy?!" Wrex demanded as he turned to the DragonKin, but halted as he saw the serious look on her face. Letting out an annoyed snort, Wrex then nudged The Void-Walker and moved back from Maleficent. "Fine." The Lizardman grumbled in obvious annoyance while The Rooks slowly moved back with him and The Void-Walker. Once all of them were gone an dark smile crossed Maleficent's face and her eyes began to glow bright green.

"Now you fools…" She crowed and threw her arms out wide as The Drow broke through her thorn vines. "… face the true power of Hell!" She declared with a laugh, her body rising up like a great ominous shadow and changing into something else. A massive four limbed lizard that stood at fifteen feet tall with Black scales and a purple armored underside while long sharp spines were aligned down its back stepped out of the flames. A pair of wings with transparent lavender membrane opened and green hellfire burned within the maw of the black Dragoness as she then let loose a mighty roar into the air.

Giving another quick roar Maleficent breathed out a veritable inferno of green hellfire into the oncoming swarm of Drow. This scattered them easily enough and Maleficent turned and swung her tail in a wide ark, slamming it into several Drow and sending them flying back into one another. Grinning darkly the Black Dragon breathed out another stream of green hellfire into the swarm of Drow. They scattered once more, this time many of them running for the exit.

'_I see these fools are brave enough to fight a Sorceress and Four Heavy-Warriors but not a single dragon!'_ Maleficent noted with a mental laugh, her Dragon form being unable to speak in anything beyond roars. She had long decided she needed to learn a way to speak in this form, but she had no idea how to go about it. However that was not in the here or the now as she stomped forward and bit into a Drow, breathed fire onto him and tossed him into one of the others.

However her rampage halted when she felt the room shake, and another unearthly roar echoed out across the stones. Her body halted and she turned in time for a bang to sound out against the door to the throne room. The Minions, Tali and the others all looked to the door to the Throne Room to see it buckling under great strain. It shook and was slammed into several times before it all but exploded into splinters and a creature lunged out of it like a frightened animal.

The creature had the look of a Drow-Woman Maleficent had seen before. But her eyes were so wide in panic and terror she could hardly recognize the face. Her eight spider legs and distinctly chitinous arms also helped, not to mention she was naked save for pieces of black exoskeleton covering her here and there. The Spider-Drow-Thing moved with unnatural speed, passed Maleficent and ramming through Drow, she even tossed several Drow back into the path of whatever it was that she was fleeing from.

Maleficent blinked for only a moment before her heart stopped and she heard the loudest, most horrible roar imaginable. She turned back to the door and saw a pair of glowing red-pinpricks in the shadows before falling back as something was upon her with lightning like quickness. She snarled and tried to break free only to feel what could only be a massive serpent as it tightened its long body around her and somehow actually overpowered her!

She snarled and looked up before her heart stopped as she found her vision dominated by a pair of hellish eyes; the shadow of massive wings were spread far enough to scrape the sides of the room, it's scales were like that of polished ivory, and its shining silver claw dug through the ground beside her head. She found herself in the coils of a dragon, a bigger, meaner Dragon… and she now had a very good idea why that Spider-Drow-Thing was running like the devil was on her tail… it was because he was.

(Earlier…)

Blood, blood and pain was all Eclavice knew. That and terror. Not fear, no, fear was insignificant compared to the pure blind terror she felt. She understood more in that terror, she understood who The Dark Oversee was, what he was, and how she had clearly angered it… not him, no, this creature could no more be a him as it could be a her, it was an it, a thing beyond the concepts of mortality. It was like a force of nature, Darkness given form, Evil given life. It was pure, and yet it was also corrupt… and she was terrified of it.

She wanted to run, she wanted to scream, she wanted to beg for mercy or for forgiveness, she wanted many things… but all she got was pain. It didn't act like a person, it was a wrathful force of nature that would break her body and crush her mind. She had a feeling what little semblance of sanity she had left was primarily dedicated to the sheer blind terror she now felt toward this creature. In in this state she wondered, she had a question of the faith she had so stupidly gone against by siding with Noble.

Was this fear, this blind terror, what other Drow had felt before her? Was this what kept them serving it, kept them loyal no matter what, kept them under its control? Was this the feeling that had originally started the worship in the first place? If so, she could see no error in their choice of deity, this was a creature of pure evil, it enjoyed tormenting her, playfully giving her a brief sense of hope before crushing it, dismembering her, crushing her bones, cutting her flesh, and even squeezing the life from her.

Priestesses of The Dark Cult desired such things to occur; to simply _**touch**_ The Dark-Overseer would be the highest honor one could achieve… unless you angered it of course.

And by the maker did she ever manage to anger it. She only angered its mortal form true, but that form was only a vessel in her mind, The True Dark-Overseer was this creature coiled around her, her arms and legs ripped off by its dagger like teeth and powerful jaws, and its serpentine body squeezing the life from her while its shadows somehow seeped into every pore and orifice she had to keep her alive for more amusement.

And worse yet it was grinning through it all, grinning such a devious horrifying grin that terror was all she knew.

It did not do any of it because it needed to, but because it made her afraid, it made her sob, it made her scream, it made her feel pain, and humiliation, and defeat, and it made her pray for her own death. The horrible part was she was praying to The Dark-Overseer instead of Lolth for the first time, bringing an even more sickly grin to its face as it knew, _**it knew**_, that it was that very being she prayed to… her prayers clearly would not be answered by it… it was having far _**too much fun**_ with her to end it all now…

And this beast relished it as she lost all semblance of hope…

The legends of The Dark Overseer were vague to say the least. And though many believed it started with Noble Fairchild, a man now known as The Betrayer and once called The Overlord, the legends predated him by centuries. In that era the faith was small and considered blasphemy by High-Elves, their oh so precious Mother-Goddess was actually terrified of The Dark-Overseer. It was a being of hate and malice, it was a creature with no gender or age, it was timeless and eternal… it was The Void itself.

As a Drow Priestess of Lolth, she actually knew very little of The Dark-Overseer. The Legends surrounding him / her / it were only taught to Priestesses of his temple which was known only as "The Dark Cult" in the Underworld. Unlike those of Lolth, to serve The Dark-Overseer was to abandon all else. Power, money, family, status, it was shunned in favor of keeping The Dark-Overseer's favor, and avoiding his fury no matter what the cost might be.

Eclavice had always seen it as foolish; Drow's killed one another for power and status, why would she give it all up to serve some mythical being? She could actually talk to Lolth for crying out loud! A Priestess never spoke to The Dark-Overseer, or at least none had in the time she'd been alive. If they had at some point in the past was beside the point, she had never believed in him or his abilities, Lolth was real, she was very powerful, wanted them to kill for her, and she granted them more power, what wasn't wonderful about that?

Being literally torn apart limb from limb by The So-Called Non-Existent Mythical Deity you had thought wasn't real, that's what is so horrible about serving Lolth…

If she wasn't practically dying, or should be, Eclavice might even have felt some level of amusement at the fact she was the first living Drow she could think of that was actually seeing or touching The Dark-Overseer in person. Even more amusing was the fact that it was a big snake! Snakes and serpents had always been a prominent part of Drow society and art. You could see them almost everywhere in their villages, armor, weapons, and even artifacts.

A brief thought that this was on purpose suddenly caused Eclavice no small amount of fear. For centuries Drow had Snakes on nearly everything, Spiders were also very prominent as a result of Lolth, which meant that The Dark-Overseer had to be some kind of Snake. But to be a massive Snake like Dragon with wings and arms was a rather large surprise.

Eclavice felt something new breaking her from her thoughts a fraction of a second before she hit the cold stone floor. The Dragon had released her from its death-grip while its shadows continued to permeate her entire being. She idly realized she could no longer even feel pain, her bones were also smashed, her skull the only thing not broken into paste by its coils. She then felt The Dragon approach, two of its claws coming to her head and removing the Overlords Crown.

It was with a sick bit of self-loathing she realized it purposely left her head intact because it didn't want to damage its crown. Or rather its mortal shell's crown… that crown was not worthy to be on its head, or even its mortal shell's head for that matter… but that was her opinion and it was only because it needed to be grander or it'd be displeased, and then it would go on another rampage, and she _**really**_ wanted to avoid that…

She suddenly understood the Priestesses of The Dark Cult… and they definitely had the right idea, status and power were worthless if this thing was pissed at you… now she wanted to hogtie her own daughter and kick her either into that cult to appease him or just throw her to The Dark-Overseer himself. What?! Maybe he'd ignore her if he had something else to play with!

"_**Impressive work, you're quite ruthless…"**_ A voice praised and The Dragon's maw was filled with a mist of purple corrosive miasma just before breathed it in the direction of the voice. Eclavice couldn't see the Voice's owner, but she knew who it was, it was Noble's General, a Reaper of advanced age and power. His presence was expected much sooner, but she had a feeling even he wasn't willing to fight The Dark-Overseer in its current state of anger.

Wait… now she felt bony hands holding her, it was disgraceful, she hated skeletons and undead. The spell to summon them was simple yes, but why did she want simple? She wanted something hard, something that would prove her greatness. At least she did back when she was still training, now she'd kill to have a few skeletons draw The Dark-Overseer's attention away from her for as long as possible.

And given Drow habits, she likely would kill someone… or just push them all in The Dark-Overseer's way to keep him busy.

Eclavice would have reacted to the feeling of the bony limbs, but of course couldn't. She was immobile seeing as The Dark-Overseer had dismembered her, cut her flesh in massive slashes, and then broken everything she had left. She had to admit she admired how thorough he was in breaking her body, although felt he needed a bit more work on the mental aspect… wait… no he was good there too, Blind Terror was all she had towards him and it dominated all aspects of her thoughts.

"_**Really, you should accept compliments where compliments are due. I haven't seen someone dismember someone and still manage to leave them alive in quite some time."**_ The Reaper General noted with a pleasant tone and The Dragon turned to him with a snarl. Eclavice felt her head tilt to the side, Shadows on the edge of her vision, she could see The Dark-Overseer again and her heart practically stopped. It was looming over them like a horrible monster about to descend upon her and rip her apart…

Wait he already did that… never mind.

"_**She is mine!"**_ The deep rumble that passed as The Dragon's voice declared in fury, yet the Reaper General merely chuckled in response. Eclavice on the other hand felt an almost perverse feeling of satisfaction at its declaration. She wasn't sure if she wanted to feel any sort of attachment or desire towards something she wanted so completely to escape from. Then again Blind Terror is a form of obsession, so now she was obsessed with The Dark-Overseer, or at least escaping and avoiding it.

"_**By this point I would have to suppose so, if not in body then in mind, I doubt she can think of much beside how terrifying you are."**_ The Reaper General admitted, again praising the Dragon's work. Eclavice could not in any way shape or form disagree with him; in fact she agreed that by this point all her thoughts were dominated by The Dark-Overseer, again, escaping from him! _**"But then again she can't be much fun to torment in this wretched state."**_ The Reaper General noted and The Dragon snorted as a response.

A burst of corrosive miasma was sent toward The Reaper, and he leapt into the air only to hover face to face with The Dragon. And in that moment Eclavice felt her terror flare as she looked into those horrible chasms The Dark-Overseer called eyes. All her breathing stopped and if she wasn't certain she was quite delirious she would even swear that her blood stopped dripping. That was just how utterly terrified her mind body and soul was of this creature.

"_**Leave now!"**_ The Dragon rumbled as purple Miasma began to form in his maw once more, and The Reaper General considered it for only a moment. Eclavice watched The Reaper General, and then grew even more terrified at what he withdrew from his robes. It was a sphere, a sphere with a symbol within its depths; the symbol was for "Deception", and it was from an ancient language. She knew this because Noble had tasked her and The Drow with making it and several more of them from the Blood of Dragonkin and… other items, one reason she'd been here.

"_**I will, but I think you'll be more pleased if your little playmate is back in one piece."**_ The Reaper General stated while bringing the sphere to Eclavice's crushed body. She felt it, she felt the sphere and she screamed in her mind, she screamed at her magic to push it away so she wouldn't be healed! She wanted to die! Not suffer even more torture at The Dark-Overseer's claws! Death was preferable to whatever The Dark-Overseer would do to a playmate who was repaired to a point where he didn't need to keep her alive!

She watched The Dark-Overseer watch with narrowed eyes, those horrible chasms just glared into her soul. All semblance of rational thought was fading, words meant nothing, all she knew was a desire to escape, to run, to find some dark hole, crawl in it, and kill herself to finally escape this creature. The sphere was vanishing into her body, it pierced her skin and entered her soul, she didn't know how she knew but it did… and then the pain started anew…

She heard someone scream, wait, that was her. Then again, of course it was her, who else would be screaming like a banshee. Then she felt her spine, literally felt her spine, pop and hiss as it started to regrew and mend itself. Horror, it filled her as she realized the sphere was working, it was repairing all the damage. She would be repaired, and The Dark-Overseer would begin again. Flesh mended itself, bones healed, and it hurt more than she could possibly hope to describe.

Pain suddenly had color, it suddenly had substance, and she wanted it to end!

Then she felt something completely new, it felt like she was expanding and yet being crushed at the same time. It was very uncomfortable, and then she managed to move her arms… wait, those were ripped off… oh Maker she didn't want them back, The Dark-Overseer would just rip them off again. She didn't want to feel that kind of pain again! Then her legs, no no no no no!

They twitched and expanded and were crushed and it felt so disturbing that she screamed and wailed louder and louder. She soon felt something strange; she looked down and saw a black limb on her stomach, not black like her skin but darker and shiny. It was almost like, no, it was like the chitin of an insects exoskeleton. But those thoughts were pointless, she saw legs, and with legs she could escape. And so she leaped up and did so, she didn't care that she suddenly had an exoskeleton, or that it felt like she had eight legs, or that The Reaper General vanished with a laugh, or that The Dark-Overseer was roaring in fury…

She just wanted to run and somehow escape him and his wrath.

(With Maleficent…)

Maleficent is a fierce and proud DragonKin, she is the daughter of a Highborn Shadow-Dragon and that alone would make her a terrible enemy. Add onto it she is a sorceress and she is perhaps one of the most Dangerous DragonKin in all of existence. Sadly this was nothing compared to the one that is now coiled around her.

In her Dragon form she was large and powerful, she thought of it as both beautiful and terrible. It was the form of a truly deadly beast that could easily crush anything stupid enough to come near her. With scales like obsidian, long sharp spines along her back, and eyes like molten jade, Maleficent was very _**very**_ vain when it came to her form as a Dragoness.

But right now her "large and powerful, beautiful and terrible" body has been completely immobilized by a much different Dragon. This one has scales of ivory, its body is long and slender like a serpent with two arms and massive wings, its head is narrow with twin horns flowing back, and numerous ridges down its back. However what truly set it apart from her were its terrible eyes.

Maleficent's own eyes were wide as she felt as they were drawn to the horrible hellish eyes of the white-dragon wrapped around her body. Her own pools of molten green light stared into deep abysses of horror and darkness. These were not the eyes of any kind of Dragon that she knew of. She stopped her thoughts; a memory of something similar echoed, and it became clear and made her whimper as the beast glared down at her, he was an Abyss-Dragon…

He was a High-Born Abyss-Dragon-Kin, and likely a direct Descendant of The Aspect of The Void itself.

The Dragon glared at the Black-Dragon it was coiled around, leaning down and sniffing for a moment. It suddenly noted a scent, it wasn't coiled around a Black-Dragon, no, it was actually coiled around a **Black-Dragoness**. All at once all of its thought processes toward her shifted and with a roar it suddenly snapped its jaws down at the base of its neck. Its teeth dug through hardened scales and toughened flesh, tearing into the junction between her neck and shoulder.

Green blood spilled out from now gaping wounds passed its teeth to pool in its mouth as bits of its corrosive miasma breath were expelled onto her flesh to leave a permanent mark. The Dragon then licked at the wounds for a second before it reared its head back and swallowed a mouthful of Maleficent's blood. Even passed her look of terror, The Dragon saw a dawn of realization on The Dragoness features. But it wasn't finished as it moved with speed belied by its enormous size, now snout to snout with the Dragoness.

"_**MINE!"**_ It barked before suddenly releasing the Dragoness and lunging after the frantic Eclavice once more. Maleficent was left on her back, still in Dragon-Form, and with very wide and surprised eyes. She honestly wasn't sure what to feel right now, well besides her neck being in pain and thankful that the White-Dragon had released her…

"What just happened?" Tali asked with a confused expression and Maleficent was silent even as she returned to her human form, hissing in pain as the gaping wound at her neck refused to heal. She brought a hand to the wound and then glanced around. Most were confused by what had just happened, and she wanted it to stay that way. The Drow Prisoner was hysterically begging for forgiveness of some "Dark-Overseer" or something, she made a note to look into it later.

Wrex on the other hand smirked, and she snarled and glared at him. Her hand unconsciously went to her wounded neck and shivered. She could still feel his breath on her throat, both the normal kind and the corrosive acid it expelled. _'That was a bit much… I'm going to scar anyways it's not like he had to make it a large mark!'_ She thought to herself, although admittedly most Dragons used their breath to mark another it was different since an Abyss Dragon's breath was supposed to be highly corrosive to all but its own kind even in small doses.

Maleficent then shook her head of such thoughts and her eyes narrowed on Wrex. The Shadow Dragon-Kin marched over to the massive Lizardman and she glared up into his eyes. Admittedly her admittedly diminutive stature wasn't making her look very threatening, but she could always turn into a Dragon to intimidate him… but she couldn't talk in that form.

"Do not say anything!" She growled at him, still holding her wounded neck and watched him merely raise a brow with a smirk. Ignoring the Lizardman Maleficent then looked to Tali and the rest and huffed. "We need to hurry and find our Master; I think he's undergone his first transformation and lost control of himself." Maleficent stated and walked off in the direction of the carnage Naruto had left in his wake. Wrex choose that moment to tease her.

"Our master?" He quipped with a raised brow and Maleficent snarled while glaring at the Lizard. He merely chuckled in response and walked off passed her, the black clad Sorceress muttered under her breath and followed. She entertained a few thoughts of killing the lizard in his sleep, but hissed as her wound throbbed at the thought. It was almost like he'd heard her thoughts and told her no, it made her shiver and worry for only a moment.

She shook such worries for later and set out to find The Dragon before it caused so much damage that The Keep was useless. Not that she cared but she was fairly confident she'd be spending a lot of time around The Overlord from now own. That also got her to thinking of her family, which made her groan and palm her face. Her father was going to be _**so**_ happy to know that she had found such a powerful mate… or rather, that he'd found her.

(With Naruto / The Dark-Overseer…)

_She's running, it's foolish, she shouldn't run._

**Of course she's running, we're going to torture her again!**

_Yes but running will make our catching her all that much worse._

**Perhaps, but terror makes them stupid, all she knows is terror.**

_He he he he he he… we had __**fun**__ with her!_

**Yes, great fun. But she's getting away. We must catch her!**

_The fun can't end yet! Don't want it to end yet! Won't allow it to end!_

**She's trying to hide behind a wall, bring it down!**

_Nothing stands before me, it melts, I love that smell. Want to burn more, level it to the ground!_

**Maybe we need to burn the dirt and blood from our scales.**

_No time! Must concentrate or she'll escape!_

**Yes, capture her!**

_Then, we make her suffer!_

**Yes, Suffer, suffer more for insulting us…**

_For stealing from us!_

**For daring to oppose us!**

_For defying us!_

"_**Gaki wake up and get yourself under control!"**_

**Shut up old beast!**

_You are worthless, leave us be!_

"_**What the hell, two? I know one of you is his dark side, but who's the other guy?"**_

**I am Yami, darkness itself!**

_And I am Aku, Evil given life!_

"_**Oh great, now his evil is starting to take on a form of its own…"**_

_Shut up old one!_

**Yes you are not needed here!**

_The insect is escaping!_

**Must not escape, must capture, make her pay!**

"_**I can't believe it, I'm actually beginning to miss the runt, at least he amused me…"**_

**Old beast hasn't learned, we are much more agreeable, we like to destroy as you do.**

_Yes, destroy, make her pay! Make her scream again! Love the screaming!_

"_**Do you two do anything besides destroy?"**_

**Not really.**

_Destroying is fun!_

"_**Then what about Marking that Dragoness? You didn't really destroy her now did you?"**_

**That was me. Do other things besides destroy, or at least will… lots of things. Fun things!**

_Why you do that? Should've torn out her throat…_

**Pretty dragoness powerful dragoness; make her scream as well, but in other ways! Not have to destroy or hurt to make scream, just as fun. Maybe even more fun. I like fun! She is ours now! No other can have her! Ours ours ours!**

"_**Okay I think I like Yami more now, but I'm not really sure about Aku…"**_

_Shut up!_

**Perhaps Old Beast is correct, you really need hobby.**

_Grr… have hobby! Destroy! Maim! Kill! Torture! Annihilate! Obliterate!_

**Rest case, you really need hobby…**

"_**Boy it's sad when you can argue with yourself and hold a three way conversation when you're not even conscious… I almost feel sorry for the Gaki."**_

**We are Gaki.**

"_**I thought he was "Garandou" or something."**_

…

…

"_**Ah, so then you two are the remains of the original "Yami" personality, that one bit of him that still exists in here. You two are probably suppressed by Garandou and Hikari when The Gaki is in control, but you managed to wrestle control from them when he got pissed off. But when you did you also tore yourself apart as a result."**_

**Old beast is smart.**

_Not smart enough to escape seal…_

**Still smart though.**

"_**Oh boy this is getting confusing… what's going on out there anyways?"**_

**Follow Spider-Drow.**

_Kill Spider-Drow when we catch her!_

"_**You two have a very one tracked mind you know."**_

_Not listening!_

**Concentrating!**

_She is running up that tower!_

**Duegar in our way!**

_Get out of the way or be trampled!_

"_**Okay you might want to stop yourselves, you need them for the future don't you?"**_

**Old Beast is right, need Duegar, waste to lose them now.**

_Want to crush them! But right… need them later._

**For now…**

_For now!_

"_**Oh boy, I'm playing the sane one for once… this is actually a nice change of pace. I also have someone to talk too."**_

**It must be boring in that cage.**

_We would hate to be sealed like you._

**When not free we are not aware.**

_No thoughts, no consciousness._

**When we free we are free.**

_Otherwise don't even exist in here._

**Garandou doesn't like us.**

_He hates us!_

**We are Chaos!**

_He is Order!_

"_**Well then of course he hates you."**_

**He hates us because we bring chaos and carnage.**

_Spoilsport!_

**Hate Spoilsports!**

"_**Hate to do it, but I got to agree with you two, sounds like a raw deal in my opinion."**_

**You would know.**

_Being trapped so humiliating!_

"_**I know right! Hey the bitch is getting away."**_

**No she's not!**

_She's trapped now!_

**She's ours…**

_Yessssss…_

"_**I think, Aku really gets off on this doesn't he…"**_

**That is a disturbing thought… but would explain soooo much.**

_No more talk! Spider-Drow is trapped! She is ours!_

**No, now she is dust!**

(With Eclavice…)

Eclavice had ran for her life and tried so desperately to escape. She had knocked anything and everything in her path in front of The Dark-Overseer. Between Drow and Duergar she had thought it would at least slow down… but it came at her like a bull. Besides taking its time with that Dragoness, she really envied her for some reason; it had been chasing her down without any sort of pause or concern. It had melted down walls and destroyed doors and anything else in its path just to chase after her.

It had chased her and been so close on her heels that she'd stupidly climbed a tower to try and escape, actually forgetting it had wings. And so now she found herself surrounded, the coiled snake like dragon had her in its sights, a twisted grin on its face. Her heart thundered in her chest, and her eyes looked all around for an escape. Unless she sprouted wings she wasn't going to be flying away. And although she actually hoped for them to appear, she knew it wasn't coming.

Now she was trapped and The Dark-Overseer was looming over her again, looking down at her with hellish eyes. She shook and tried to back away from it but it moved to block any possibility of escape by folding its wings around the top of the tower. She was now trapped and at the mercy of The Dark-Overseer again. Some small part of her brain told her that if she hadn't run from him it wouldn't feel so bleak and hopeless when she realized she was going to most likely be tortured again… but she ignored it.

She fell to her side, her legs curled in on her, she hugged herself as her body was wracked with sobs and she curled into a fetal position, completely and utterly broken. She had run, she had really run and tried to escape, and it still followed and caught up to her. It trapped her, and now she was at its "tender mercies" again. She didn't even bother struggling as its claws grabbed hold of her and didn't whimper as it dropped her. There was no pint anymore, it had won…

Her bones broke when she hit the roof again, but it was just pain and didn't really matter. The beast soon coiled around her and started to tighten. But this time there was no shadows to keep her alive. It was going to strangle her to death and leave her dead. It was going to kill her only now, when she was little more than a broken shell of her former self. Somehow she didn't feel surprised, the grin was still there, but she didn't feel like screaming, just pitifully sobbing as her bones broke and she found her eyes drawn back to those hellish chasms it called eyes.

There was no amusement anymore. It won, the game was over, and it was now time to put away its toys. That's all she was to it really, a toy to play with until she was too broken to do anything with anymore. Her pride was gone, her dignity torn to shreds; she didn't even have her sanity anymore, hysteria maybe, but no sanity. She would die a broken shell of her former self in the coils of a god she never believed in.

And if there was a worse way to die, she didn't know it… and then she felt the coils wrap around her head. All she saw was darkness as her bones broke, her limbs were crushed and blood pooled in her mouth before dribbling out. Her eyes bled too, it would be creepy to see but they'd done it before as well. It wasn't something she could describe; she was sobbing tears of blood as the Dark-Overseer finished coiling around her head and gave a quick jerk while continuing to tighten and crush her entire body into pulp.

Her neck was snapped instantly, finally ending her suffering…

(With Naruto / The Dark-Overseer…)

_No fair! She not scream!_

**Of course not, lost hope, no hope, no fun.**

"_**I hate it when that happens, mortals are really so pathetic like that. You just torture 'em a little and they fold like paper."**_

**True.**

_Old Beast very wise._

"_**Damn right I am! I'll teach you two a thing or two one of these days."**_

**Not now. Garandou waking up.**

_Fun over?_

**Fun over…**

_Awww…_

**Oh well, time to go.**

_Until next time?_

**Until Next time!**

"_**All of you shut up! I have a lot of work to do and none of you are part of it!"**_

"_**Lighten up Gaki."**_

"_**Shut it Kyuubi, I don't like losing control…"**_

"_**Yeah, yeah, whatever."**_

Naruto opened his eyes as he shrank back to normal size and form. He fell forward onto his hands and struggled to regain control of his labored breathing. _'What the hell was that just now?!'_ He demanded of anyone or anything in his mind; however all was silent, much to his annoyance. Grunting and pushing his way back to his feet the young Overlord gripped the side of his head with one hand and tried to push the massive headache away.

'_Oh dear sweet Kami-Sama my head!'_ The youth inwardly complained while bringing his other hand to his head as well and slowly sat down. The young Overlord quickly checked his surroundings once his head no longer felt like it might explode. What he saw was akin to a mass of bloody meat and pulp with a strangely insect like quality to it… he really didn't want to know what it used to look like.

Shivering for a moment the young Overlord in training stood up and stopped when he noticed a weight on his brow. Reaching up the young Overlord found a familiar bit of metal covering his forehead and circling most of his head. "My crown?" He questioned in confusion, and wondered when he got the item back a moment before reaching back. There he found The Blade of Plun-Darr as well, both items almost appearing as if he'd never lost them.

"Alright I know that something weird just happened…" Naruto muttered before hissing and grasped the sides of his head again. "But I just way too tired and my head hurts way too much to deal with it right now." He grumbled and shook his head, opened his wings and flapped them once to rise into the air. Moving down into The Duergar's Keep, Naruto wondered what got loose and tore the place to shreds.

Inside the young man's seal, Kyuubi started laughing at the question from the youth.

(Unknown…)

The Betrayer rested upon his thrown within the Infernal Abyss. He didn't breathe, or even move, his eyes were closed, and the only clue he was even alive was the evil power flowing from his body in waves. His clawed hands twitched and a pair of hellish red orbs of fire appeared where his eyes should be. The Betrayer awoke to see his realm in utter chaos, as per usual, his wraiths moving about tormenting the souls of the damned.

He had been trapped here in ages long passed, but that did not stop him from making it his own. He had changed the Infernal Abyss to a place of true torment for both wicked and righteous; he honestly thought both needed it. The Wicked of course got the more classic kind of torture for their wrongdoings, nothing new there. The Righteous however got a slightly different look, a look at all the lives they had unknowingly ruined, the families they tore apart, the children they orphaned in seeking to aid the light.

For some strange reason, The Righteous always screamed louder than The Wicked, and seemed more tortured than them as well. Of course given the fact they had dedicated their lives to helping others, only to learn how many lives they ruined instead, he couldn't really imagine how they must feel.

"_**Master."**_ The voice of his Reaper-General came and The Betrayer glanced to the side as the cloaked skeleton formed before him. Kneeling, the Reaper reached into his cloak and held out a bony hand. Several crimson red spheres suddenly floating over his hand, much like the one Eclavice was infused with. _**"The Blood Orbs were completed sire; however they have a few… bugs in them."**_ The Skeleton stated and The Betrayer silently narrowed his eyes.

"**What kind of bugs?"** The Lich demanded in a low voice and the Reaper lowered his head.

"_**After I used one on Eclavice I found that while they do grant impressive powers they do not negate the old weaknesses of the host. I also noticed that they seem to increase emotions as an already terrified Eclavice went into a state of blind terror when she was healed. They also break upon the host dying leaving them utterly useless. If that weren't bad enough these were the only orbs made, they take much time and effort to form and refine even to this extent."**_ The Reaper-General explained and The Betrayer mentally frowned.

"**That is… annoying."** The Betrayer intoned darkly and The Reaper General nodded his head.

"_**However they do have some unforeseen benefits as well."**_ The Reaper noted, The Betrayer raising a brow in interest.

"**Go on."** The Lich urged and his reaper nodded.

"_**Besides making Eclavice more powerful they also healed all her wounds, regenerated her limbs, and mutated her into a more powerful form. Of course this was wasted on her since in her state of blind terror she preferred running away from The Overlord to fighting him."**_ The Reaper explained, and The Betrayer frowned for a moment before dismissing his annoyance, Eclavice was likely very dead by this point anyways.

"**What of the Duergar Keep, can it be reclaimed?"** The Betrayer questioned and The Reaper General shook his head.

"_**Doubtful, The Overlord will undoubtedly aide the Duergar from now on, in both rebuilding and guarding their home."**_ The Reaper-General replied and The Betrayer hummed lightly, idly rubbing his chin in thought.

"**What of The Drow then?"** He questioned and The Reaper-General shook his head.

"_**The Overlord has Eclavice's Daughter in his clutches; if she makes it back to their home they will likely see him as "The Dark Overseer". This is especially true given how her trounced through the keep in the form of a massive white dragon. Even though that is your tittle master, they only know he was an Overlord and The Minions his servants."**_ The Reaper-General replied once more and The Betrayer felt a bit of annoyance before leaning back in his throne.

"**It matters not. I already have what I wanted from The Drow of The Underworld, but what of Prior and The Vampires, how goes their work?"** The Betrayer questioned of The Reaper-General, only for both to turn as a familiar Succubus appeared. **"Hello Lilith."** The Betrayer noted with a slight incline of his head, the Succubus Queen smirking as she walked to him.

"Greetings milord, I'm happy to announce I've found you the perfect new body." Lilith declared and The Reaper General growled.

"_**We have more important matters to discuss Lilith."**_ The Reaper-General growled at the black haired Succubus, who frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. Sensing an annoying argument about to begin, The Betrayer held up his hand to silence both of his servants. With them looking to him, The Lich turned to Lilith with a curious aura around him.

"**What kind of body have you brought for me?"** The Betrayer questioned and The Reaper-General frowned and turned away. Lilith grinned cheekily in response, then raised a hand and swiped the air, a large body falling to the ground beside her.

"I found this fellow chained up in the Duergar Keep; while the Overlord and his little friends were distracted with the Drow I grabbed him. He's half Earth-Dragon, unbelievably tough and strong, perfect for you given your combat style." Lilith replied and The Betrayer felt an evil grin form, though he technically had no lips to do so.

"**And it also makes for a perfect match against The Overlord, another half dragon."** The Betrayer noted with a chuckle, The Reaper-General rolling the flames that made up his eyes.

"_**So you were in the Duergar keep then?"**_ The Reaper-General questioned with his head tilted to the side. Lilith frowned and raised a brow, looking at the Reaper questioningly.

"And?" She asked and the Reaper-General chuckled under his breath.

"_**I'm merely wondering why you didn't simply kill The Overlord now while he's weak?"**_ The Reaper-General questioned curiously and Lilith blinked before glancing to The Betrayer warily.

"I merely felt that milord should have that honor, The Overlord is **his** enemy after all." Lilith replied while smiling worriedly, The Betrayer merely rising up to stand over the half-dragon she had brought for him.

"**And you are correct, if anyone shall end The Overlord it shall be me."** The Betrayer stated while holding his hand over the body and forming a ball. **"General, we shall continue our discussion later, for now I would like to regain a proper body, and then put it through a few tests."** The Betrayer stated, causing a grin to cross Lilith's face as she was aware what a few of those tests would include.

Feeling annoyed at being so readily dismissed, The Reaper-General quietly bowed at the waist. _**"As you wish, milord."**_ The Reaper-General whispered while fading into the shadows to leave The Betrayer to his work.

(Castle Plun-Darr…)

Naruto walked into his throne-room and let out a grunt of exhaustion. The castle looked as it had before, though Gnarl was more than a little relieved as his master stepped through the swirl of sparks typical of Waypoint Gate travel. "Master you're home!" Gnarl declared while waddling over to him with Doc at his side. The medical Minion quickly set about checking on the young Overlord only for him to growl and pull away.

"I'm fine Doc… check on the others." Naruto ordered while making his way to his throne to have a rest. As he sat down he watched the others walk through and into the throne room. Tali glanced around appreciatively as she did; Wrex merely forced the drow girl to keep moving into the room.

"Place looks about the same as when I left…" Wrex noted more to himself than anyone, and Naruto rolled his eyes in response. With a glance to the side the blond noticed Gnarl approaching and sat up. His back ached and his wings felt sore for some reason. _'My wings are still fairly new; all that flying must've put them through quite a workout…'_ He thought to himself, and the young Overlord mentally stowed that bit of information away for future reference.

"What the bloody hell happened to you?" Doc questioned from the side while examining Maleficent's still bleeding neck. The green skinned Half-Dragon actually seemed hesitant to respond before clearing her throat.

"First I need to ask if this is the first time he's ever taken on his Dragon form…" She responded with a slender finger pointing to Naruto. The said youth merely glanced to her for a moment with a pricelessly confused expression.

"I took on a dragon form?" He asked now seriously confused about what happened in the keep, while Maleficent let out a breath and rubbed at her neck.

"Well that answers that question…" She muttered under her breath then looked back to Doc. "As a DragonKin I've learned that for us turning into a true Dragon for the first time usually happens under extreme duress or heightened emotional stress. In the case of your master he became so enraged that his Dragon Blood took control and started running on a rampage. Also while in this form his baser instincts took over and suppressed his conscious mind." Maleficent started explaining only to groan as Wrex let out an amused Chuckle.

"Yeah, but that mark came when he wrapped around her dragon form, bit her, and then shouted "Mine" to her face." Wrex summarized, his grin soon matched by both Gnarl and Doc, whom was finding it very hard to suppress his natural urge to laugh his ass off. But in his defense years as The Jester did not help him any…

"Sire… did you really mark Maleficent as yours?" Gnarl questioned with a snicker and Naruto merely tilted his head in confusion.

"What? What do you mean?" The young Overlord asked and Doc started holding his mouth closed with both claws while tears formed at the edges of his eyes. Maleficent herself however palmed her face with her free hand and then glared at Gnarl.

"What part of baser instincts did you not understand? I was the first and only female dragon of significant power he's _**ever**_ seen in that state! Of course he marked me you obnoxious little gnat!" The girl growled at the minions, which caused Doc to lose all semblance of seriousness he had left. The poor former Jester started laughing so hard that he fell back on his back and began rolling on the floor laughing. Gnarl on the other hand merely chuckled and gave a quick thumbs up to the blond, which merely earned him a confused stare.

"Okay… I think I'm missing something. What does being marked mean?" The blond questioned tiredly and yet Gnarl merely whistled innocently.

"Oh it's nothing you should worry about, Master. I'll explain it to you when you've rested up." Gnarl replied with a grin and Naruto merely nodded his head. He appreciated that the old Minion Master was allowing him to finally some rest. "But in the meantime what should I do with the Drow wench?" Naruto questioned while glancing at the still tied up girl with a lecherous look. Palming his face, Naruto leaned back in his thrown and briefly considered what he could do with her. Eventually coming to a decision the young Overlord kept one eye open and glared at her heatedly.

"Send her back to the other Drow. If nothing else, learning who they pissed off and what kind of force I command should get them off our back for the time being." Naruto replied flippantly while leaning back and closed his eyes to finally get some rest. Gnarl felt more than a little put out by the order however walked over to the drow and kicked her in the side.

"Get up wench, you heard the master!" He growled and the Drow got to her feet and walked off with Gnarl, Doc still laughing uproariously and now beating his tiny fists into the ground. Naruto in the meantime shook his head, closed his eyes and allowed himself to fall into a blissful slumber…

(?)

Naruto found himself in yet another strange dream. He finds himself standing across from a man in armor, his face shadowed by a black hood. Only the baleful icy blue pinpricks of light that seem to replace his eyes are visible in such dark shadows. The man is seemingly held in place by three others, a man in a familiar mask, someone dressed vaguely like an older Will, and an older boy with brown hair and a silly pink hat. Glancing around Naruto notes that they are in some kind of entry-way to some building, and that there are many injured warriors all around.

Naruto recognizes several of those around the room, however they are all older. He also notes Sylvanas nearby helping a familiar red-haired woman that makes his eyes widen in shock. _'K-K-Kaa-chan AND Sylvanas Hime?!'_ The young Overlord mentally demanded in a mix of shock and joy, not really sure which he felt more of. He had to tear his eyes away from the two as they worked to heal several wounded soldiers, spotting more familiar faces as he did.

He saw Tora, older, a bit more muscular, a lot more scars littering her green skin, and now missing an eye. Tak and her brother Echo were around as well, working on a host of machines that were scattered around the room. He saw Tali; she was seemingly working on a massive array of gemstones and strange glowing symbols and pathways.

Strangely he saw no sign of Grunge anywhere, something that greatly worried the blond given Tora's new appearance. He also noted several Konoha-Shinobi running all about the area, giving the blond some hope that the village would be his at some point. Wrex was also there, a mass of Lizardman warriors looking more than a little beaten and bashed. Batches of Cats were also around the room, Naruto vaguely wondered if that meant he'd get their allegiance or something.

Naruto honestly had to wonder by what miracle he'd managed to keep those two in the same area without them tearing one another's throats out.

Naruto could scarcely keep up with the number of people he recognized, stranger still were the ones who stood out yet didn't know. Of greatest note was a seemingly young white-haired green / blue eyed girl at his side who was definitely of the undead persuasion.

"Keeping me here is only going to cost you more lives, Overlord." The voice was deep and masculine, and as Naruto turned back to the hooded man, he felt himself scowl deeply.

"And letting you run free would be any better?" The blond demanded though he wasn't actually speaking, no, he listened to the voice as it came from his throat, and felt as he clenched his claws hard enough to draw blood from his palms.

"Better you release me and save your kingdom, than keep me here and let it fall." The man replied mockingly, his head tilted to one side and causing a growl to leave Naruto's throat. Something about this being was just… off… and not in any way Naruto could describe. The man just made his skin crawl for reasons he couldn't understand. However his thoughts were broken as the entire building suddenly shook, the white haired girl clutching at him as she nearly fell from the force of the tremor.

"Your enemies march upon your door Overlord; you have no choice but to release me upon those worthless fools." The man stated pointedly, but the young Overlord felt no such desire to release this creature, even onto his own enemies… "Your most powerful Spell casters hole me in chains, while your poor little Necromancer is forced to hold a veritable swarm of warriors at bay. He cannot do it alone, he needs their support." The man stated and while Naruto knew it was true he felt no such desire to tell the creature that.

"Gnarl, how is Necrosis doing holding the shield up around the citadel?" Naruto demanded of the minion-master while helping the girl back onto her feet. The aging Minion-Master closed his single eye for a moment, before a deep scowl crossed his lips and he returned to his master.

"Shin reports that Necrosis barrier cannot withstand many more hits like that last one sire. The Betrayers Legion is pushing harder than he can withstand!" The Minion-Master reported and Naruto grit his teeth while glaring at the hooded man furiously. However the "Citadel" shook once more, Naruto bracing himself and catching the white-haired girl once more while the man chuckled darkly.

"I can lay waste to these worthless peons, young Overlord; just release me to do so!" The man stated darkly and Naruto narrowed his eyes, red steam wafting from them and filling the young Overlord's vision at the same time. A sudden weight on his shoulder brought Naruto to look to his side, where Sylvanas stood with a passive expression.

"Naruto." The woman began and the blond focused solely upon her words. "No matter what, I defended Quel'thalas to the very last and bitterest end; I did all that I could to protect it. I would expect no less of you." Sylvanas told the blond haired youth kindly, before suddenly glaring at the imprisoned being across from them. "I will stand by you no matter your decision, even if that means letting that beast loose upon the world once more." She stated and Naruto slowly nodded his head, eyes returning to their original blue hue while the citadel shook once more.

"Gnarl… where is the backup from the Underworld?" Naruto questioned evenly and the Minion-Master closed his eyes and growled darkly.

"Pinned down by another force from The Betrayer, they won't be able to make it in time to be of any aide Sire." The Minion-Master responded, causing Naruto to grit his teeth in anger.

"What of The Onyx Tower, The Black Tower, Snake Mountain, The Spire of Agony in The Broken Lands, or Frostcrag Spire in Cyrodill? I want a status report on all our bases now!" Naruto growled at his Minion Master and Gnarl quickly closed his eyes and concentrated.

"The Onyx Tower is still under repairs and has mostly workers in it at the moment, The Mist Village around it has only just started to rebuild as well so it won't be of any assistance. The Black Tower in Nami was the first to fall under attack and I fear that Espio is having a rather troubling time keeping it together given the force that attacked it." Gnarl listed and a scowl worked its way over the blond haired Overlords face.

"Medusa and the others currently in Snake Mountain are free however they aren't close enough to use the Waypoint Gates to get here. And finally Rika and Kelda are in Frostcrag Spire, but like Medusa they are unable to get here fast enough by using Waypoint gates." Gnarl explained and the young Overlord as he tried to think of something he could do to bolster his forces.

"Wait, what about The Spire of Agony? Can we send for forces from those lands for aid?" Naruto questioned and Gnarl shook his head with a deep frown.

"No, unfortunately it seems they haven't even gotten a proper waypoint system working yet, that's one of the reasons we can't have troops from Snake Mountain or Cyrodiil Piggyback all the way here quickly enough. And it doesn't hurt we also lost contact with our forces in Albion as well…" Gnarl replied and a deep growl slipped passed Naruto's lips, the blond Overlord clenching his fists tightly.

"Tell Doc to have them hold the fort and keep the Underworld safe, I don't want The Betrayer's Forces reaching The Heart! Alert Akore at The Onyx Tower about the possible danger there and have them take the necessary precautions. Have Espio hold on as long as his forces can, tell Medusa to lock down Snake Mountain and close their Waypoint-Gates, same with Frostcrag Spire and the Spire of Agony, I don't want to lose any more troops!" Naruto ordered and Gnarl nodded before quickly doing as told while Naruto turned to glare at the dark man across from him as the citadel continued to shake.

Thundering steps entered Naruto's ears, he could hear shouts and war cries, the very drums of war thundered out all around him as he stared unblinkingly at the being before him. Gritting his teeth, Naruto glared back at the man before him, a furious angry growl echoing in his throat at a smirk barely visible in the shadows of his hood. "Let him pass…" Naruto grit out while walking to the brown haired boy, each of the spell-casters silently nodding before the masked man and Will vanished in a flash.

"Thank you, Overlord." The man suddenly stated with a courteous bow, Naruto sneering as he grabbed a fistful of the back of the pink-hatted teens clothes.

"If you ever so much as come near my kingdom I swear there will be no mercy!" The blond snarled at the man, who merely let out a light chuckle as he rose back to his full height.

"The deal with your grandmother is still valid Overlord, I won't touch your lands so long as you don't get in my way…" The man stated before turning on his heel and marching towards the exit, a deep scowl on Naruto's face.

"Uhh…" The pink-hatted teen started only for Naruto to suddenly glare at him.

"Shut up." The blond growled in obvious annoyance and the teen wisely obeyed the commands only moments before Naruto flapped his wings and shot into the air. Quickly maneuvering out a large alcove, the young Overlord flew out of The Citadel to see a vast forest partly burned down and thousands of soldiers marching upon his lands. Stranger still however was a massive floating island, seemingly chained to the citadel and producing a noxious green miasma across the land.

However that same Miasma seemed to have no ill-affect to Naruto or his forces, given that they had likely been breathing it in for some time now. Although the Miasma also didn't seem to be doing them much good either, even with the sheer number of soldiers marching upon them. It also didn't hurt that they had all manner of siege weaponry pounding on their shields even now, slamming into the magical barrier in an attempt to smash it in and get at the citadel.

"By the maker there are a lot of them!" The pink-hatted boy declared with wide eyes and Naruto silently grunted in response, a moment before flapping his wings and rising up. Twisting around a single massive tower in the center of the tower, the young Overlord arrived at the top and landed near three others, Will and the masked man joined by "Necrosis" he supposed. Tossing the pink hatted teen forward Naruto quickly turned on his heel and rose into the air.

"You really need to learn how to teleport." Jack of Blades noted dryly while looking to the pink hatted youth, the said boy shooting him with an annoyed glare.

"Sorry but some of us think you combat obsessed nut-cases need more of a healer which leaves me with very little time to practice and learn that dumb spell!" The youth grumbled, Will muttering something in Drow under his breath. Naruto merely turned them out, briefly glancing back and looking to how his citadel was under attack. _'I still need more time; we're almost ready to begin The Exodus…'_ He thought desperately before shaking his head and glaring at his mages.

"Get the shield up and at full strength, I don't want the Betrayer or anything else from that freak getting passed our defenses." Naruto growled and the pink-hatted boy quickly nodded before scampering over to the other mages to add his power to the shield. Ignoring them the young Overlord lunged from his perch and fell to the ground below, opening his wings only as the already green shield was suddenly combined with a purple, red, and blue aura as well, causing the shield to become a multi-layered barrier of raw magic.

'_Let's see that worthless excuse for a lich break through that.'_ The young Overlord thought with a mental growl while flying back into the citadel and touching down in the main-entryway once more. "Gnarl, I want archers on the walls to watch for any stragglers after our… friend… deals with the bulk of The Betrayer's forces!" Naruto ordered and the Minion-Master didn't even nod before rushing off to do as he was told.

"Tali! I want your cannon operational ASAP, if necessary we're going to blow The Betrayer, that maniac, and everything else within a hundred mile radiance straight to hell!" Naruto snarled and the woman gave a stuttered response as she got back to work.

"Master, was it truly wise too…" Tak started to question and Naruto grunted in response.

"With two enemies for them to face we have less of a chance for this kind of force to amass against us again for some while. That will at least buy us enough time to prepare for the exodus. As far as that thing goes… at least he'll keep Azeroth, Panderia, and Kalimdor off of our backs for the foreseeable future." Naruto grumbled out in response and Tak slowly nodded her head in agreement as the young Overlord tried to convince himself that it was a necessary evil… although it seemed as if it had been only one among many over the years…

Turning from all of that Naruto marched over to a large crystal, the white-haired girl from before falling into step at his side soon after.

"Naruto… is… is he really gone?" The girl questioned worriedly, Naruto turning his head to look at her for only a moment. Placing a hand on her shoulder, the blond closed his eyes and nodded only once, her eyes falling as he did. Turning away from the girl, Naruto waved a hand over the crystal and watched on silently as a vision of the dark armored man appeared upon its surface. The man silently marched down a long corridor before pushing upon a massive set of doors and walking out of the citadel.

'_War, war is perhaps the oldest invention of man…'_

The man halted for only a moment and turned to look back into the citadel. A pair of glowing blue eyes gazed into the darkness for only a moment before turning away as the man marched onto the battlefield. His heavy-footfalls echoed in the corridor leading to the main entryway of the citadel, before he stopped right in front of the barrier. The man raised his head to look to the sky for but a moment, before moving his cloak to the side and grasping the hilt of a sword.

He unsheathed a wicked and cruel rune-blade from his side, its icy metal seeming more and more familiar to the blond the longer he stared at it. When he raised his sword up, it produced an obvious reaction from the invaders. Many on the front line fell back, looks of sheer terror forming on their faces as he then grasped the handle of the blade with both hands. Lunging forward, the man exited passed the barrier into a jump before suddenly bringing his sword blade down into the ground.

'_War never changes, and with war great evil always surges forth…'_

Instantly the earth split and veins of blue energy surged out from the blade and into the throngs of enemies. The split in the land brought many to fall to their deaths, only the quick and agile got out of the way in time. The energy passed over dozens of fallen soldiers both ally and enemy alike. The soldiers seemed suddenly wary, and as Naruto watched, he saw all stood still… until madness broke loose.

At first there was a rumble, the earth shuddered beneath their feet, and then suddenly a massive vine rose up into the sky. The vine was quick to slam down on top of dozens of the soldiers, a woman sitting on it with black hair and green skin, a sly smirk on her face. Her vine was followed by several more, the soldiers screamed and ran in terror as they thrashed about, only to be cut down by something far worse.

'_But this war shall bring more horror than can possibly be imagined…'_

From the earth came yet another creature, this one crawling to its freedom, and then rising up, its body taller than any normal man could hope to match. It did not stand, no, it hovered over the ground and wore purple robes of some kind, its body seemed skeletal and its eyes gave off an unearthly blue glow. He creature raised its arms and spread them wide, a sickly green miasma spread forth to cover the battlefield.

The bodies across the battlefield started to rise back up in amassed numbers, far greater than Naruto could count, their baleful blue eyes burning amongst the number of living. Chaos broke loose almost instantly; the undead lunging out at the living, the battle beginning once more, while the men closest to the armored man backed as far away from him as physically possible. However the man merely rose to his feet and held his blade aloft, menacing blue eyes narrowing as he reached a hand up.

'_For with it, it shall bring…'_

The man pulled back his hood as he did, the fear on the soldiers face grew by leaps and bounds upon seeing a horrifying helmet upon his head, a triangular blue gem at its forehead and a skull formed into the center most spike. Letting out a chuckle the horrible creature lunged forward, more of the blue energy of his blade spreading and twisting the very earth beneath him into a plagued mess as he cut down several of the soldiers, and then raised his hand.

There was a brief flash as something horrible happened, those cut down by the blade shook and shivered before rising again, a flash of energy flowing from their undead bodies and into the sword held by the being. Letting out another chuckle, the being watched as his army grew and grew every moment it brought down the opposing forces of light. Many of the were now trying to retreat, but those closest to him tried desperately to stand strong and oppose him…

But he didn't care, no, he raised his sword level with the ground and pointed it forward, his eyes narrowed dangerously and a deep rumbling voice reverberated from the depths of his throat. **"Come, Frostmourne… **_**Hungers**_**!"**

'_The return of The Lich-King…'_

TBC…

AN: I AM SOOOOOO SORRY! And I really mean that. I was really busy over the last… year… anyways, again I'm sorry. I've been working a lot and was unable to just sit down and finish this chapter at first. Then I got a bunch of new video-games and movies to watch, and of course other things got in the way… anyways I'm trying not to seem like I'm whining. So I decided I'd try to make it worth the wait with a little look into the future of this story Via Naruto's ever growing ability in "Precognition".


	19. Side-Story01

NU: Dark Lord +

Side-Story: Overlord Precursors…

Naruto walked into the library of Castle-Plun-Darr with a deep frown across his face. He'd been putting this off for far too long. He knew only what Gnarl explained about his family. He knew even less about the rest of the world he'd been thrust into. As such, the blond Overlord was certain it was time to study. Loath as he was to admit it, he had to buckle down, and study up on everything he didn't know.

His family, the many Dark Races, the cultures among the dark races, and so on and so on.

All of it was contained in three books. Three books that Shin was reluctantly allowing him to keep. As of right now he was sitting at a desk in the master-bedroom of the castle. It was sparsely furnished due to its previous occupant. Naruto himself didn't have much to furnish it with either. The only real addition was the desk he was sitting at, alongside the chair he was sitting on. Both had been added last minute when he'd decided it was finally time to learn.

"Alright, let's start things off with my family, who all am I related to?" The blond decided while pulling a book to himself. It was an old book made from dragon hide, green dragon hide that is. It had a golden lock shaped like a dragon's claw, as well as other "Fancy" golden adornments. He honestly thought that the book seemed just a little "Overdone". Upon its face however was a simple tittle "Lineage of The Overlord".

Opening the book and ignoring anything else, Naruto started with his earliest ancestor. Thankfully the book was simple and to the point, unlike Gnarl, not embellishing any of his ancestors or their actions. It unfortunately also seemed to skip or just briefly mention quite a few, leaving only their cause of death and how utterly worthless / useless they had been. "That would likely be Gnarl's personal addendum." Naruto mused with a slight smirk while looking to what was written about the infamous "Black Baron".

Thomas Black

AKA: The Black Baron, Master of the Castle Heart, Creator of Minion-Kind, Builder of Castle-Gromgard, Maker of the Overlord Gems, Lord of Meadowsweet Village, The First Master, **"Father"**.

Family: Martha Black (Mother), Jacob Black (Father), William Black (Younger Sibling), Jack "Duke Gromgard" Black (Youngest Sibling), "Lord" Grenville Black (Elder Nephew), "Lady" Gerda Black (Niece), Marcus "Lord Gromgard" Black (Nephew), Wiz "The First Wizard" Black (Youngest Nephew)

Biography: The earliest records of Thomas Black link him to the legendary homeland of humanity, Albion. Born to a simple Blacksmith and wishing to follow in his father's trade, Thomas was **not** a monster or tyrant. He was a simple, honest, hardworking fellow who loved to create things like his father. When his brother William discovered the powers of Strength, Skill, and Will, Thomas was shocked to find he had similar powers as well.

Although their younger brother Jack, The Runt of The Litter, shockingly had no such powers at all… and was a fool to boot… a dumb fool, a dumb fool who constantly had undead and other such misfortunes following him wherever he happened to go. Thankfully, none of these traits were passed on to his children, the important ones that is, Maker be praised.

Yet, rather than fight with his brother over such power, Thomas decided to leave the lands of Albion instead. Becoming a Knight and naming his younger sibling Jack as his squire, Thomas eventually came to the Village of Meadowsweet. And he found that the villagers were… stupid… very, very stupid. Thomas was unwilling to allow such stupidity and ignorance to remain, and so set forth.

The Black Baron, as he would come to be called, usurped the leaders of the village and claimed it as his own. He did so in interesting ways, he bribed some, killed others, and those remaining fell to the wayside. With the village under his control, Thomas set about educating the stupid and ignorant. He also took time for personal pursuits, creating with his powers over will being the most prominent and well known.

His village flourished under his leadership. And while he had technically enslaved the villagers, no one truly cared beyond being annoyed that they were technically slaves… even though he didn't actually treat them as such. They also whispered of The Black Barons experiments and creations, dubbing them as "Black Magic" "Witchcraft" "Sorcery" and the like. It really was all that and more, but people always make it sound worse than it really is.

Over five decades would pass with The Black Baron ruling over the lands. A grand Castle was built and named Castle-Gromgard. He had created much in his time, from inanimate objects like the Original Overlord Armor, the Castle-Smelters, Spell-Stones, Minion-Totems, Health-Pillars, and Mana-Columns, to the Semi-Sentient like the Overlord / Castle-Heart, to the truly sentient and incredible such as The Minion Race.

However between educating the stupid, an uphill and fruitless endeavor at the very least, and creating such marvels, The Black Baron neglected one very important thing. He forgot to make a family. All his years of creating, leading, and teaching had left him a very old, wise, but lonely man. As such, The Black Baron looked to his younger brother's family.

"Duke Gromgard" was still a fool and his life filled with misfortune, but he had at least managed not to be beset by Undead in some time. He had married a fair young lass, or rather a strumpet not worth her weight in dung, who bore him three children. The first was Grenville, an arrogant slip of a boy who talked like he was better than everyone. The second was Gerda, a husky mean-spirited and overly violent wench who belittled all around her.

All and all, it was quite clear his brother was a poor father and his sister in law a poor mother and wife. If that wasn't bad enough neither of them had been born with the power that William or Thomas had. Both were average humans, uppity and spiteful, but average.

But low and behold a third child was born. The Black Baron had been surprised for he sensed power in him. Power and potentially greater than even his own yet left dormant. Not only did he sense power in this child, but a great darkness as well. The child's destiny was clearly not for the faint of heart, and so the Black Baron knew, he had found his heir.

Soon after, The Black Baron sealed his creations away, his family, uppity as they were, claiming to have done it themselves. The Black Baron would die not two weeks later, his last wish known only to one, The Minion Master Gnarl. This wish was that on Lord Gromgard's Sixtenth-Birthday, he would be given a gauntlet that would unlock The Black Barons creations…

And so, on that day, The Overlord would be born onto an unsuspecting world…

Gnarl's Notes: The First Master, he was… special to us. Not just because he created me or the minions, but because we knew him first. He taught us what we know, clothed us, feed us, and showed us how to fight and live and die; it was thanks to him that we have a purpose. If not for the first master we would not have The Overlord, we would be nothing… so, thank you Master, for giving us our purpose, for giving us what we have. You shall not be forgotten.

Marcus Black

AKA: The First Overlord, The Second Master, The Teen Overlord, Master of Castle-Gromgard, The Puppet Master, Conqueror of Meadowsweet, Killer of Crazed Halflings, Wolf-Slayer, Faerie Crusher, Witch Wacker, Creator of the M.S.F. (Minion Special Forces)

Family: Jack "Duke Gromgard" Black (Father), "Lord" Grenville Black (Older Brother), "Lady" Gerda Black (Older Sister), Wiz "The First Wizard" Black (Younger Brother)

Biography: While relatively Unknown, This was the first True Overlord to ever rise to power. And it is from his Bloodline that all others have followed. Save only for one that is. He was the son of Duke Gromgard, who was met by a series of misfortunes, yet again. His kingdom which was left to him by The Black Baron was besieged by monsters and bandits and so he set out on a grand quest, during which more misfortune hit him as his fortune was lost, his wife left him for a rich, handsome, strong nobleman from a neighboring land, and to top it all off, his quest ended in failure, and he was shamed by his own people.

Unwilling to give up and determined to succeed, Duke Gromgard set out on another quest, this time adding find a new wife to his list. Clearly charm wasn't his strong point either, as all the girls in Meadowsweet were well aware of him… and equally disgusted. Basically, it'd take a miracle for the poor sod to find a woman willing to stomach him.

And yet, on the day Duke Gromgard left on his new quest, coincidentally also falling on his sons sixteenth birthday, something special happened. Lord Gromgard, Marcus Black to no one, was given a special gauntlet. The Gauntlet allowed him to enter a section of Castle-Gromgard long since hidden away. And that is how he came to find The Overlord Armor, and meet the Minions, in turn becoming The First Overlord.

Shortly thereafter Lord Gromgard was forced to deal with a number of problems. From The Halfling servants of the castle going completely nuts and attempting to kill him. The Villagers of Meadowsweet, his servants, making off with his Forge. Having to deal with a bunch of Bandits, who attacked and stole the Forge from the villagers. Wolves hunting and presumably eating the villager's children, their queen oddly able to look like a little girl in a red hood.

Bunches of Faeries trying to kill him at every turn for seemingly no reason at all. Really, the nerve of some creatures! And even an annoying, somewhat husky and tall, witch who wanted to cause children's teeth to fall out so she could sell them to the tooth faerie. Once all THAT nonsense was finally over and done with, The Master set his sights on his older siblings.

His plan was diabolical and yet equally simple. He tricked The Elves his brother lived with, and the Dwarves his sister lived with, into going to war. He simply had his minions disguise themselves in the clothing of either side, and then had them sneak in and kill their leaders. With just a little help, of course.

Once the Dwarves and Elves went to war with one another, The First Overlord returned home. He was content with the knowledge that his siblings would fight a fruitless war, while he would expand his empire. He even commissioned a man known as "The Engineer" to build the Dark Tower. He would grow ever stronger, and eventually put his detestable siblings to work as slaves. He held no true ill-will towards his unfortunate father however, so took care of the kingdom and allowed him to continue searching for a bride.

Annoyingly enough, his father's new bride turned out to be the annoying witch he hadn't killed… and their son turned out to be the first of a line of wizards who would be his family's greatest enemies. But of course with a name like Wiz, it was no wonder the minions made fun of him and he got angry and decided he'd dedicate his life to killing them and their master…

(AN: See Overlord: Dark Legend / Overlord: Minions)

Gnarl's Notes: Ahh, the first in a long line of Overlords, the first one I was advisor too. And from whom I've learned many tricks of the trade. I think of him whenever I teach a new Overlord. In all honesty, very few stand out more than him. He had more power than even he realized. It was only his mortality that kept him from reaching his true potential… but his descendants would transcend that little limitation, he he he he he!

The Second Overlord: Not worth a bloody name! Seriously! In the time he was Overlord he knocked up some random Tavern-Wench, beat the crap out of a Minotaur, went out to destroy stuff for no reason, and ultimately collapsed Castle-Gromgard on top of himself! He was crushed by his own castle, which he knocked down on himself! If he hadn't knocked up that Tavern Wench, we wouldn't have even had anymore masters or mistresses!

Eldrith Black

AKA: The First Overlady, Eldrith The Betrayer, Eldrith of The Withering Sun, The Traitress of Swords, Mistress of The Onyx Tower, Unifier of The Dark Races

Biography: Eldrith was known to be a great and powerful warrior even before becoming Overlady. She was one of the greatest generals of The Sword Coast, commander of the company of the bladed crescent, sworn sword and defender of Baldur's Gate. She served with both honor and distinction during the Sundering War, the stillwater port siege, and the campaign against the black horde. In every battle she ever entered, she was always victorious.

But of course, as a member of The Black Family, evil would still find a way. Pride burrowed its way into Eldrith's heart. Every battle fought and victory achieved made it grow and grow ever stronger. Soon enough, she saw all of Baldur's Gate as her own.

Then, her life would take a drastic change, on the day of the great betrayal. She and her company left Baldur's Gate to scatter the Black Horde once more. Even though it's number of Orcs and Goblins outnumbered them five to one. They survived the battle, but half their number was lost, Eldrith wished to continue pursuing them. However the dukes of Baldur's gate refused. They told her that too many good men were lost, they told her that the Black Horde would never return… but Eldrith's stubborn pride didn't listen.

Furious, Eldrith ignored the dukes orders. She believed it would be better to deal a death blow to the Horde rather than wait for them to regroup. Thus Eldrith defied the dukes and marched out with her soldiers, unwittingly leading the men to their own untimely deaths. She cornered The Black Horde, but this only made them that much more vicious. She sent a messenger to Bladur's Gate for reinforcements. But they never came. It was a massacre, with only Eldrith and a few of her Company surviving.

Wounded, Eldrith marched back to Bladur's Gate to demand an audience with the Dukes. Instead she was met at the gates and told that for her disobedience she and her company would be barred from the city. Outraged, Eldrith ordered all that remained of her company, all the men who had sworn loyalty to her, to attack the city walls. She would find the Dukes, and put them to the sword… for justice, as she said.

It was the charge of a maddened animal, it was suicide.

Her company was destroyed almost down to the last man. And the guards of Baldur's Gate would chase her and her men for leagues. They chased them all the way to The Marsh of Chelimber. And as the last of her men died, Eldrith herself was cornered, yet she was no longer a recognizable sight. Her armor and helm were caked in blood, she could barely walk, she was clearly dying… and even then, she struggled onwards, fueled by a lust for vengeance.

Fearing Eldrith's skill with the blade, the soldiers did not dare approach. Instead they felled her with Crossbow Bolts. It was a cowardly execution, one without honor… they felled her and left her in the marshes, certain she was dead…

They were wrong.

Eldrith's black heart and powerful blood didn't allow her to die. The Minions who had been watching her all her life finally approached, and offered her a way to achieve her vengeance. Of course, she accepted. Dragging her near lifeless body to Mortis, Eldrith was saved and a great tower, The Onyx Tower, built for her use. Eldrith recovered quickly, but rather than use The Minions as her means of revenge, she instead turned to The Black Horde, The Drow, and the many other Dark Races instead.

She would go out, she would defeat their leaders and bend them to her will, and thus would be born, The First Dark Alliance. This collection of species would be beset upon Baldur's Gate in an attempt to gain the vengeance that Eldrith so dearly craved. But alas, for three heroes would rise up, they would travel the lands destroying her generals, before finally ending Eldrith at the top of her own Onyx-Tower. She would die, and the tower would fall with her… for a time…

(AN: Based on Eldrith The Betrayer of Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance)

Gnarl's Notes: Eldrith was quite possibly the first Overlord of any gender to abandon The Minions and traditions of the Overlords; however she would by no means be the last. While many aren't listed a grand total of at least a dozen ignored using The Minions and Overlord relics. Instead they would typically go and find their own power. Eldrith is unique because she had us build The Onyx Tower, and then cast us out after she had no more use for us. In my opinion, she had a proper evil attitude!

The Third Overlord: Exploded. Nuff Said. Luckily had a few kids for us to choose the next few master's from.

Janet Black

AKA: The Second Overlady, Mistress of The Night, Lady of Nightmares, The Thing in The Dark, Monster Tamer, Minion Masher, Flame Flinger, **"Dusk"**

Biography: While born into the line of Overlords, like others, she wasn't aware of her true heritage or her destiny. Unfortunately for her enemies however, that mattered little. In a time where women were rather simple, Janet was quite the oddity. Smart as a whip, adventurous, sarcastic, and quick to anger, she showed very little femininity in many ways. As such it was no small surprise that when she took up the mantle of Overlady, she was also much more hands on than her predecessor Eldrith.

She took the mantle soon after her sixteenth birthday, after being pushed off a cliff by one of her so called "Friends". As it turns out he'd attempted to court her, but Janet wanted nothing to do with him. So in a fit of rage he almost killed her, driven mad by his action he would cast a spell to try and revive her, but since she was still alive it instead cursed him. Meanwhile we minions found and brought Janet to her new home in the forest, nursing her back to health.

As we did her would-be suitor went on a chaotic rampage, taking the name "Masquerade" and possessing a set of chains, mask, and tattered old cloak. Masquerade would be a rather annoying trouble for the country side, possessing those in power to obtain riches taxing the poor and rich alike, having entire farms and fields leveled for no apparent reason, and generally just causing trouble. When the Mistress was finally well again she set out to take her revenge on her would-be suitor, inadvertently getting tangled up in the situation with Masquerade which led her to the discovery of his true self.

Now unlike other Overlords, instead of sitting back waiting for the Minions to do her work, Janet lunged head first into battle herself. Utilizing a "Monk" fighting style eventually renamed the "Brawler" style, in her honor no less, Janet literally beat the living shit out of any hero stupid enough to stand in her way. Among many other traits, Janet was also quick and prone to beating the people under her rule into submission, at least if they didn't swear fealty to her that is.

In any case after a long quest to take down Masquerade, involving a series of different quests from destroying ancient evils and killing bandits, unicorns and other such things, Janet finally found and killed Masquerade. With that done she set about the task of having a family to carry on her line, what she called a very troublesome ordeal. While she finally found a suitable suitor, she allowed him no real control over the nation, and had him killed shortly after she sired a child.

As said before, Janet was never and can never be seen as a good person. She was rude and abrasive; many Minions _**still**_ have fantasies about her no less, and she was also very quick to anger. As such it's no surprise she hired nannies and caretakers to look after her child while she did all the footwork of running the kingdom. In fact it was this very trait that would eventually lead to her downfall as an Overlady.

Only two years after she had given birth to her child, a group of witches began plotting against her. Turns out her sperm-donor husband had a sister among their ranks. As such they plotted a way to get back at her, and what better way than to make her look as monstrous on the outside as she already was on the inside. Luring her into a specially crafted ritual circle, lady Janet was forever changed, made immortal, but at the cost of both her humanity and her link to The Overlord Heart, thus stripping her of her powers and tittle as Overlady.

Enraged by their trickery she was quick to kill all the witches, but in doing so had also killed her only means of ever returning to normal. A result of her own actions led to Lady Janet going into a self-imposed exile. Lady Janet, now calling herself "Dusk", was last seen three years later by Gnarl sitting on one of the spires of her castle. It seems that Gnarl found Janet had changed greatly since being made into a monster. He said most would see it as being for the better; she had become demure and quite reserved as she found herself constantly hunted as a monster instead of ruthlessly dominating people.

Being unable to speak made it impossible for her to do so, it made it clear that she could no longer be a ruler as no one could listen to her orders. Moreover, the loss of her link to The Overlord Heart completely destroyed any possibility of her regaining the tittle of Overlady. This was because once lost, a link to The Overlord Heart can never be restored. The last thing Janet ever did was kiss her child goodnight as she faded into the shadows, never to be seen again.

Gnarl's Notes: While this Overlady was one of the few to take up the mantle she was unique. For one, she's still alive to this day. Being immortal does that. However her body was completely altered and she lost the ability to rule. Not having a voice can cause that. As such, while she still lives, we have no earthly idea where she is or what has become of her. Besides that, she was also abrasive, anti-social, detested most people with a passion rivaled only by my own, and to top it off, she made destroying everything in sight fun again… I actually really miss her.

The Fourth Overlord: Disintegrated by his own blasted spell!

Kyle Black

AKA The Fifth Overlord, The Dragon Lover, The Spell Binder, Lord of the Black Tower, Seeker of Darkness, Master of The Void, The Abyss Sire, The Fade Forager

Biography: Kyle was an odd boy from the very beginning. He was odd because all his life he had a disturbing fascination with Darkness. He wanted to learn and know everything that the Darkness held and wasn't afraid to delve into more forbidden territory to find it. As a result of this single-minded drive, Lord Kyle made for an excellent Overlord. Great and terrible was his wrath when called to bear on some unlucky peasant or servant.

For years he mastered every spell and weapon that The Minions put against him until his Black Tower was finally finished. He practiced in heavy scale-mail armor rather than plate or chain, preferring it for one reason or another. He also learned all that his ancestors' stories had to teach, learning tactics and manipulation quite easily. Once all was complete Lord Kyle began his search into the Darkness and all that it held. It was also he who first discovered The Shadow and Abyss Dragons.

It was this discovery that piqued his interest and ultimately led to him learning every summoning spell he could. For it was upon meeting the High Born Abyss Dragon, The Dragon Aspect of The Void no less, named Mia, that Lord Kyle discovered that The Abyss was a place of true Darkness, and that it was the realm which allowed Summoning to be possible.

Learning the many spells pertaining to summoning was no small feat of course, there being hundreds of them at the time and the master constantly finding new and more inventive ways to use them. Lord Kyle and Mia began to spend more and more time together, before eventually Kyle took the Abyss Dragon as his wife, an action which would inadvertently change his descendants and the Bloodline of The Overlord…

Upon marrying the dragon Lord Kyle was finally allowed to learn the true secrets of shadows and darkness. He was the first Overlord to learn such spells and the first to use them against his many enemies. His wife was an always present asset and ally; however was fiercely territorial and jealous of other women and so our master was without any other Mistresses, unlike other members of the bloodline.

Lord Kyle continued his study and research, and eventually he found what he wanted, a way to enter into The Void himself. Having heard the stories of his ancestor William Black, The Black Baron's young Brother, Lord Kyle was determined to find out what was within that realm beyond the "Court of Blades". However unbeknownst to our master, The Abyss was also attached to several more realms, realms he would first forage into and irrevocably bind to our world forever more.

The places he visited like The Abyss were followed by The Void, The Infernal Abyss, The Eternal Plane, The Nether World, Oblivion, and The Fade. It was Lord Kyle who opened these realms to our world, it was Lord Kyle who spoke with and made deals with The Deadric Lords of Oblivion, and it was Lord Kyle who unleashed the forces of darkness upon the world for the first time. Demons and otherworldly creatures were given a way to our world, nearly laying waste to all in their path.

It was only due to intervention from a ragtag band of heroes that Lord Kyle was finally defeated with his love Mia at his side. Lord Kyle died and yet his influence would be felt by the entire world for years to come. His opening of the gate had allowed the otherworldly beings free pass into our realm… something that the forces of Light have never truly recovered from…

Gnarl's Notes: Lord Kyle, while not at all the most vicious or cruel of our masters, ultimately changed not only the world, but also The Overlord Bloodline. For you see, it was Lord Kyle who brought Dragon's blood into the family. And it is thanks to that very action, that all other Overlords now have access to the true power of Darkness…

The Third Overlady: Immolated. Again I'm starting to wonder about our Masters and Mistresses, and I'm just glad that this one had a kid.

Zachary "Zack" Black

AKA: The Sixth Overlord, Lord of the Obsidian Tower, Warlock of The Wild, Terror of the Skies, The Outsider, The Rune-Lord, Oblivions Champion

Biography: Zack Black was an odd ball in the family. He was unlike the others because he was mostly pacifistic in nature. He never once set out to conquer, instead remaining in his Obsidian Tower for most of his life. Within his tower he researched and discovered all he could about an ancient type of magic. Namely, he studied runes and glyphs, never once straying from learning all he could about them.

For many years things were simply like this, as with his ancestors, Lord Zachary was more of a creator than a destroyer and so never went out of his way to destroy. This had the obvious effect of leaving him with very few enemies; the few who wanted him dead were those who believed his "Black Magic" was evil and so sought to kill him. Lord Zack never thought much of such things however and merely built Golems to defend his tower.

For years that was all Lord Zachary did, study and explore the possibilities with runes and glyphs before finalizing something very special. It was a powerful glyph that worked by drawing power from an array of runes, which allowed him to lift his Obsidian Tower into the skies. Lord Zack's discovery led to the eventual development of flying devices known as "Air-Ships" at the time which have sadly fallen out of use since the Second Great Purge.

Our master would use this to explore the world, eventually finding the land of Thedas and meeting a woman. She was a rather charming one too, named Flemmeth. Flemmeth and Lord Zack had a simple relationship; they enjoyed very few things beyond their work, but at times did seek out one another's company. It was because of this that lady Flemmeth strengthened the already powerful Dragons Blood within the Overlords, causing them to take on human form in their early years before taking on more dragonic features as they grew more powerful.

Due to his relationship with Flemmeth, lord Zack became known as The Warlock of The Wilds, the only creature living or dead that Flemmeth spent prolonged periods of time beside. Flemmeth sired the master three daughters, two of which she took with her back to the lands of Thedas, while Lord Zachary raised the final one to take his place as Overlord. Such an occurrence never came to be however as his daughter instead fell in love and had a family.

Lord Zachary watched his daughter's life, never aging or changing as he had found many powerful runes and spells, which he used to prolong his youth. Eventually Lord Zachary stopped checking on his daughter and banished The Minions, His Servants, and anyone who he could from his Obsidian Tower. The Master became consumed in his work, and expelled all traces of his mantle as Overlord for his grandchildren to take up instead.

Lord Zachary was known as The Lord of The Skies for his discovery, and yet he never stopped his studies, instead continuing to explore the possibilities of runes and glyphs. The master found a new glyph of course, but in finding it's abilities he also dragged the Obsidian Tower into another dimension, leaving his minions and servants behind as he went. Now Known as "The Outsider" our former Master has survived in exile, sometimes appearing to people of import who catch his interest…

(Slightly based off of The Outsider from Dishonored…)

Gnarl's Notes: Much like some other Overlords in the past Lord Zack managed to survive and is possibly alive to this very day. And while he is by no means the most powerful of our past masters he was perhaps the only one to avoid heroes. In fact, of all our masters Lord Zachary was the only one The Wizard and his descendants never truly tried to kill.

The Seventh Overlord: Turned inside out when he messed up a simple healing spell… really, this was especially stupid to do that.

Aeon Black

AKA: The Eighth Overlord, the Dungeon Lord, Keeper of The Catacombs, Teacher of Goblins, Creator of The Dungeon Heart, Builder of The Underworld, The Mage-Knight

Biography: Aeon was a rather unusual Overlord as he took after his ancestor The Black Baron. He was a builder and designer, not a warrior by any make or merit. Upon gaining the power of an Overlord he turned away from The Minions and gathered the unruly Goblins together as a worker force instead. Larger, faster, stronger, and more durable than Minions, Aeon then began the arduous task of teaching them language and reason.

As he did, he also set about building himself a "Dungeon" rather than a tower. His dungeon was quite literally a death trap, an inviting place for Heroes to come seeking adventure. He allowed them their silly little victories, and then killed them when their souls were strong. He absorbed their souls and Life-force, constantly making himself stronger to build more impressive devices. Among these devices was an artifact known as The Dungeon Heart, an artifact that had many of the features of The Overlord-Heart, but with a few additions.

Aeon would conquer his own "Underworld", bringing order to the darkness, and taking a succubus named Calypso as his bride. Unfortunately this particular Succubus desired more than to be his concubine, and so betrayed Aeon, banishing him to the highest level of The Underworld where his former servants became his bosses. Yet the goblins remained ever loyal to Aeon, helping him rebuild his home. Helping him reclaim his home, defeat The Skeleton King, turn the paladin Marthas to evil, knock down Minos and force him to bow to him, turn the mortal lands into a desolate wasteland, and eventually overthrow Calypso.

She begged and pleaded for forgiveness, yet Aeon killed her instead, leaving his former love to rot as he continued to build and create his Underworld in peace… at least until the next lucky Hero managed to finally catch him off guard. Oddly Aeon had appreciated the Goblins so much one was taken as his bride, a rather pretty one true, but then again some Goblin habits also became more prevalent in the Overlords after him.

(AN: See PC-Game "Dungeons" for more…)

Gnarl's Notes: Among all the Overlords, Aeon was perhaps the most special. Aeon took after The Black Baron, so much so that above all others, I could never betray him, even when he decided not to use our abilities to aide him. He set out to build his own creations, and should we ever find them, I would hope that our Current master would allow us to integrate his creations into those already in use.

The Tenth-Overlord: Eaten by a giant weasel!

Isaac Black…

AKA: The Archon Suitor, Lord of The Brass Spire, King Black, The Magic Machinist, The "Steam-Lord"

Biography: Lord Isaac was not like his ancestors or descendants. The reason for this is quite simple… he hated Magic. Or rather, he hated how dependent his ancestors were on Magic for a multitude of their abilities. Lord Isaac was a brilliant inventor, but unlike his ancestors who built everything around magic, Lord Isaac was more interested in machines.

For years Lord Isaac would simply build machines of this or that nature, constantly trying to improve his inventions. And yet he would always find something missing, some piece he wasn't seeing. And it would continue to elude him, prompting the master to set out on a journey to learn all he could about machines. He would train with Dwarves, Goblins, Gnomes, and other machine handy species and yet still he would not find what it was he was seeking.

As a result Lord Isaac crossed the lands seeking out newer and newer innovations. He crossed continents on this quest with Minions in tow. Eventually he arrived in Albion and came across a blind woman named Teresa, whom he grew a fondness for. He courted the Lady for some time before she eventually agreed to by his First Mistress, at which point Lord Isaac felt whole for the first time in his life.

While never telling his mistress this, Lord Isaac was never particularly good with women and he cherished his time with Lady Teresa more than she would ever know. The Lord would continue to develop more and more inventions as time went by, even building a massive Spire that was completely composed of clockwork gears and traps designed specifically to ward off any would-be heroes who might come looking for his head.

The Wizard at that time was one such person, however Lord Isaac was wily and constantly on the move. But this gave him little time to look after his Mistress as she bore him a son, one he would name Keldor. However the father and son could not be any more different. Keldor was a physical and magical lad who liked the old ways, Isaac believed that should The Overlord never grow out of using magic and swords and shields that they would stagnate and eventually perish.

The two would butt heads for years, Tereasa bearing only one other child, a daughter, in the time that Keldor and Isaac were fighting. Unfortunately Isaac wouldn't live to see her. Keldor would instead be the end of his father. Putting together a ragtag band of warriors he would slip into his father's workshop and slay him on the spot. Yet when Keldor looked for his mother he would find that she and his newborn sister had vanished…

Gnarl's Notes: Although he wasn't the most powerful of our Overlords it was thanks to him that the Overlord Bloodline was allowed to be strengthened. His taking the lady Teresa as his mistress was perhaps the best thing that could happen to the bloodline. Strengthening the, at the time, thinning Archon blood of the Overlord and allowing our masters a small level of precognition that varied in strength from Overlord to Overlord.

Keldor Black

AKA: The Twelfth Overlord, The Master of all Evil, The Skeleton King, The Undead Lord, "Skeletor"

Biography: Keldor Black is by far and wide a rather famous member of the family. This is because he personally killed his own father in order to take up his throne. Lord Keldor would then attempt to spread his power across the land. He conquered many villages and territories over the years, however was opposed at every turn by various different heroes. Strangely enough some even sought to _**avenge**_ the death of Keldor's father, the previous Overlord!

As time went by Keldor would build a small army he would refer to as simply The Forces of Darkness. These forces were mostly unique warriors whom Keldor considered exceptional in their individual Fields, similar to how Heroes had always worked. Among this number was Lord Keldor's First Mistress, a Sorceress by the name of Evil-Lynn. The Minions and other such races were of course included within that number however took on a more supplementary role.

While earlier on other Overlords had Orcs as warriors, Keldor had them as farmers, while Dark Elves had commonly been rangers and assassins Keldor had them reinforcing his troops by using Magic, and while Goblins and Minions had been Cannon Fodder before, he now used them as messengers, scouts, and for other tasks suited to their small stature. Kobolds, Gnolls, and other such creatures were also given more fitting roles based on their abilities.

While this use of troops was considered odd at the time, it did surprisingly well in keeping skirmishes to a minimum. The Dark Races for the first time had no reason to start attacking the villages of the light races, allowing Keldor more time to plan out his own conquest as the light races grew lazy, believing no attack to be coming their way. This seemingly worked to Keldor's favor as his seemingly small band of troops snuck into the capital city of the land and he managed to kill the ruler of the land.

Yet even in victory Keldor also managed to lose, as his face was burned away by a vile sort of poison. His Mistress Evil-Lynn did all in her power to save Keldor, but in the end all she was able to do was bring about the reign of Skeletor, The Mad Skeleton King. Lord Keldor's face and the muscles over his skull were burned away, as were his eyes, leaving a horrific skull in its place. The Lord was driven mad by his new appearance, and whatever sanity he had left was devoted to taking the lands for his own.

Evil-Lynn would of course stay by his side throughout the years, however would attempt to betray him at times. Eventually she sired a child who would be Keldor's successor, but rather than have the mad Skeletor fear his son overthrowing him Lynn had The Minions hide him away. Lynn would go on to train her son in the ways of magic, while The Minions would teach him of his ancestors and other powers…

And in the waning era of Keldor's rule when he'd been all but banished to his home in Snake-Mountain. When a legion of Heroes marched forward to tear his home down, his son showed his mother and father how similar to them he truly was. He orchestrated the most perfect takeover that anyone in the lands would ever know. Sigmund Black was not a boy who wished to get his own hands dirty unless necessary, and who did not trust his mother or any of his family. In truth, Sigmund had learned much from his mother and father, and The Minions had always said it best.

"Never trust Family…"

And so he didn't, and instead plotted against both Mother and Father. He pretended to be the true heir to a lost empire, one captured by Keldor and Evil-Lynn. He used his youth to trick the heroes into helping him "Reclaim" his empire from the Mad Skeleton King. The heroes stupidly and foolishly did so without thought of consequence. Although among them The Wizard was wary, his desire to destroy The Overlord Bloodline was far stronger.

And so Keldor and Evil-Lynn were both murdered by the heroes with lord Sigmund watching on. It would thus that Lord Sigmund would ascend to the throne, and one of the heroes would unknowingly introduce him to The Wizards Daughter, Rose, whom he would take as his first Mistress. And thus Lord Keldor's son took control of the Title of Overlord without ever having to lift a finger to do so…

(Slightly based off of Keldor / Skeletor from He-Man…)

Gnarl's Notes: Although in his early years Keldor had some level of competence and capabilities as an Overlord, time ravaged him in his later years leaving him an insane husk of his former self. While I still respect "Keldor" as an Overlord, I feel that Skeletor is a mockery of what he used to be. As such when the time came and Skeletor was finally destroyed I saw it more as our Master being released from The Clutches of Madness. Although I do miss him to some extent, I feel it was his son who was truly deserving of praise…

Sigmund Black

AKA: The Thirteenth Overlord, **The Old Overlord**, Ender of Wizards, Defiler of Daughters, Dark Ruler, Mind Whisperer, Lord of The Dark Tower

Biography: (See Overlord for his Story…)

Gnarl's Notes: Much like Lord Marcus, Lord Sigmund was well known for using manipulation and Subterfuge rather than outright fighting. A powerful wizard in his own right I always felt he was perhaps our most capable Overlord. Not that others weren't powerful or capable, but Lord Sigmund just had a way of doing things that made him that much more evil…

Noble Fairchild

AKA: The Fourteenth Overlord, The Eighth Hero, **The Betrayer**, The Dark Overseer, Bully of Jesters

(AN: See Overlord for his story…)

As Naruto finished the book, skipping the rest and leaning back with a deep frown on his face. Nothing about The Overlord of Nordberg was available in this book, it'd been written for him after all. Regardless, Naruto now knew a great deal more about his family than just what Gnarl had originally told him. He now saw how every last one of them had been turned to the side of evil for one reason or another.

"I guess it's just like they say…" Naruto mused while turning on his heel, already making plans to return tomorrow and study a bit more. "Evil is as evil does…" Naruto continued, making his way out of the room to find one of his minions and start training. "And evil, always finds a way." He finished with a sly grin slipping across his masked features as he left his studies to be continued on another day…

TBC…


	20. Character Chart

_**DO NOT REVIEW**_; This Chapter will be replaced with the next new chapter…

_**TO SEE NEW CHAPTER, GOBACK TO LAST CHAPTER**_!

Important Characters and their equipment / Spells…

This list will be updated with each chapter…

_**Humans**_:

Haruno Sakura:

**Gender**: Female

**Age**: 12

**Eye-Color:** Jade

**Hair-Color**: Pink

**Skin-Tone**: Fair

**Occupation**: Academy Student

**Clothing:** Clothes

**Equipment:** ?

**Weapons:** Kunai (Steel), Shuriken (Steel)

**Jutsu**: Kawarimi (Substitution), Henge (Transformation), Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Technique)

Haruno Ayane: Primarily based on Gaz from Invader Zim with bits of personality from Johnny "Nny" C, Devi D, and Todd "Squee" Casil from Johnny the Homicidal Maniac

**Gender**: Female

**Age**: 9

**Eye-Color:** Jade

**Hair-Color**: Indigo

**Skin-Tone**: Pale

**Occupation**: Sakura's younger Sister, puppeteer (Kugutsutsukai), Evil

**Clothing:** Clothes

**Equipment:** Skull Necklace, Puppets

**Weapons:** Kunai (Steel), Shuriken (Steel), Senbon (Steel)

**Jutsu**: Chakra no Ito (Chakra Threads), Kugutsu no Jutsu (Puppet Technique)

Uchiha Sasuke:

**Gender**: Male

**Age**: 12

**Eye-Color:** Black

**Hair-Color**: Black

**Skin-Tone**: Pale

**Occupation**: Academy Student.

**Clothing:** Clothes

**Equipment**: ?

**Weapons**: Kunai (Steel), Shuriken (Steel)

**Jutsu**: Kawarimi (Substitution), Henge (Transformation), Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Technique), Katon: Gokakyo no Jutsu (Fire-Release: Grand-Fireball Technique)

**Kekkei-Genkai**: Sharingan

_Hyuuga Hinata_:

**Gender**: Female

**Age**: 12

**Eye-Color:** Lavender

**Hair-Color**: Dark-Blue

**Skin-Tone**: Pale

**Occupation**: Academy Student, Hyuuga Heir

**Clothing:** Clothes

**Equipment:** ?

**Weapons:** Kunai (Steel), Shuriken (Steel)

**Jutsu**: Kawarimi (Substitution), Henge (Transformation), Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Technique)

**Kekkei-Genkai**: Byakugan

_Ichiraku Ayame_:

**Gender**: Female

**Age**: 16

**Eye-Color**: Brown

**Hair-Color**: Chestnut

**Skin-tone**: Tanned

**Occupation**: Overlords Servant / Confidant, Cook

**Clothing**: Clothes

**Equipment**: Bandanna

**Weapons**: None

_Jiraiya_: The Legendary Sannin, Gama-Senin

**Gender**: Male

**Age**: 50

**Eye-Color**: Black

**Hair-Color**: White

**Skin-Tone**: Fair

**Occupation**: Sannin, Sage

**Clothing**: Clothes, Haori, Geta-Sandals, Hittai-Ate "Oil", Hand-Guards

**Equipment**: Summoning-Scroll

**Weapons**: Kunai (Steel), Shuriken (Steel)

**Jutsu**: **Kekkai: Tengai Hojin** (Barrier: Canopy Method), **Shikoku Fuuin** (Finger-Carving Seal), **Katon: Ryuka no Jutsu** (Fire-Release: Dragon Fire Technique), **Katon: Endan** (Fire-Release: Flame Bullet), **Fuka Hoin** (Fire Sealing Method), **Gogyo Kaiin** (Five Elements Unseal), **Toton no Jutsu** (Transparent Escape Technique), **Kawarimi no Jutsu** (Body Replacement Technique), **Hari Jizo** (Needle Jizo), **Hari Jigoku** (Needle Hell), **Ranjishigami no Jutsu** (Wild Lion's Mane Technique), **Rasengan** (Spiraling Sphere), **Tsuin Rasengan** (Twin Spiraling Spheres), **Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu** (Shadow-Clone Technique), **Kuchiyose no Justu** (Summoning Technique), **Kuchiyose: Yatai Kuzushi no Jutsu** (Summoning: Food Cart Destroyer Technique), **Kuchiyose: Gamabuchi Shibari** (Summoning: Toad Mouth Bind), **Kuchiyose: Gama Mise no Jutsu** (Summoning: Toad Shop Technique), **Gamagakure no Jutsu** (Hiding in a Toad Technique), **Doton: Yomi Numa** (Earth-Release: Swamp of The Underworld), **Kekkai: Gama Hyoro** (Barrier: Toad Guard Prison), **Gamayudan** (Toad Oil Bullet), **Katon: Gamayu Endan** (Fire-Release: Toad Oil Flame Bullet), **Gamadaira – Kageayatsuri no Jutsu** (Toad Flatness – Shadow Manipulation Technique), **Kaeru Kaeru no Jutsu** (Frog Conversion Technique), **Sennin Modo** (Sage Mode), **Senpo: Goemon** (Sage-Art: Goemon), **Senpo: Kebari Senbon** (Sage-Art: Hair Needle Senbon), **Katon: Dai Endan** (Fire-Release: Big Flame Bullet), **Choodama Rasengan** (Ultra-Big Ball Spiraling Sphere)

_Ozai_: Based on Ozai from Avatar: The Last Airbender

**Gender**: Male

**Age**: ?

**Eye-Color**: Gold

**Hair-Color**: Dark-Brown

**Skin-Tone**: Fair

**Occupation**: Prince of Hi-no-Kuni

**Clothing**: Royal-Robes

**Equipment**: None

**Weapons**: None

**Kekkei-Genkai**: ?

_Azula_: Based on Azula from Avatar: The Last Airbender

**Gender**: Female

**Age**: 11

**Eye-Color**: Gold

**Hair-Color**: Dark-Brown

**Skin-Tone**: Fair

**Occupation**: Ozai's Daughter / Princess

**Clothing**: Royal-Clothing, Bracers (Leather)

**Equipment**: None

**Weapons**: None

**Kekkei-Genkai**: ?

_Zuko_: Based on Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender

**Gender**: Male

**Age**: 14

**Eye-Color**: Gold

**Hair-Color**: Black

**Skin-Tone**: Tanned

**Occupation**: Ozai's Son / Prince

**Clothing**: Royal-Clothing, Bracers (Leather)

**Equipment**: None

**Weapons**: None

**Kekkei-Genkai**: ?

"_Samurai Jack"_: Based on Jack from Samurai Jack (Duh)

**Gender**: Male

**Age**: ?

**Eye-Color**: Coal-Black

**Hair-Color**: Black

**Skin-Tone**: Tanned

**Occupation**: Ronin (Masterless Samurai)

**Clothing**: Samurai-Robe (Cloth), Samurai Armor (Wood), Geta (Wood)

**Equipment**: ?

**Weapons**: Samurai-Blade

**Jutsu**: Samurai-Sabre-Technique, Haden (Rapture), Iaido (Way of Iai), Iaigiri (Iai Beheading)

_Danny Fenton_: Based on Danny Fenton / Phantom from Danny Phantom

**Gender**: Male

**Age**: 16

**Eye-Color**: Azure Blue

**Hair-Color**: Black

**Skin-Tone**: Tanned

**Occupation**: Warrior (Paladin)

**Clothing**: Chain-Male Suit (Steel), Gauntlets / Greaves / Chestplate (Steel), Spiked Pauldron (Steel), Chain-Male Waist / Thigh protector (Steel)

**Equipment**: ?

**Weapons**: Broad-Sword (Steel)

_Danielle "Dani" Fenton_: Based on "Dani" from Danny Phantom

**Gender**: Female

**Age**: 12

**Eye-Color**: Azure Blue / Emerald Green (Complete-Heterochromia)

**Hair-Color**: Black

**Skin-Tone**: Pale

**Occupation**: Student, Rogue (Thief)

**Clothing**: Clothes

**Equipment**: Bandana

**Weapons**: ?

_Timothy "Timmy" Tiberius Turner_: Based on Timmy T. Turner from Fairly Odd Parents

**Gender**: Male

**Age**: 12

**Eye-Color**: Azure Blue

**Hair-Color**: Brown

**Skin-Tone**: Tanned

**Occupation**: Student, Mage

**Clothing**: Clothes

**Equipment**: Silly Pink Hat

**Weapons**: Dull Green Sword

_Mandy_: Based on Mandy from The grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy…

**Gender**: Female

**Age**: 12

**Eye-Color**: Grey / Red

**Hair-Color**: Blond

**Skin-Tone**: Pale

**Occupation**: Apostate, Blood Mage

**Clothing**: Clothes

**Equipment**: None

**Weapons**: None

**Spells**: Unknown

_Billy_: Based on Billy from The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy…

**Gender**: Male

**Age**: 12

**Eye-Color**: Brown

**Hair-Color**: Orange

**Skin-Tone**: Fair

**Occupation**: Mandy's servant / slave

**Clothing**: Clothes, hat

**Equipment**: None

**Weapons**: None

**Spells**: None

_**Archons**_:

"_Will of The Wild"_: Male-Hero from Fable-2

**Gender**: Male

**Age**: 8

**Eye-Color**: Luminescent Blue (Pupil / Iris)

**Hair-Color**: Brown

**Skin-Tone**: Tanned / Heavily-Scarred

**Occupation**: Companion, Mage

**Clothing**: Mages Gear (Leather), Face-Mask (Cloth / Leather)

**Equipment**: Drow-Shadow-Cloak (Cloth), Spell-Gauntlet (Fire)

**Weapons**: None

**Spells**: Blades, Force-Push, Fire, Assassins-Rush

_Rose:_ Older Sister of the Fable 2 hero…

**Gender**: Female

**Age**: 12

**Eye-Color**: Blue

**Hair-Color**: Dark-Auburn

**Skin-Tone**: Fair

**Occupation**: None

**Clothing**: Patchwork clothes

**Equipment**: None

**Weapons**: None

**Spells**: None

_**Minions**_:

_**Greys**_:

Gnarl: Grey Tribe-Leader, Minion-Master

Doc: Physician

Jester / Quaver: Jester and training dummy

Shin: Librarian

Espio: Espionage Agent

_**Browns**_:

Giblet: Brown Tribe-Leader, Forge Master

Goby: Captain of The Guard

Grubber / Grubby: Three Stooges 1 / Digger

Gubben: Three Stooges 2

Moldy: Three Stooges 3

_**Greens**_:

Stench / Slash: Green Tribe-Leader, Master Assassin

Venom: Torture Expert

Hiss: Tailor

Snake: Stealth and Infiltration Expert

Carnage: "Overkill" Expert

_**Goblins**_:

_Zim_: Based on Irken Zim from Invader Zim

**Gender**: Male

**Age**: ?

**Eye-Color:** Red

**Hair-Color**: Black

**Skin-Tone**: Green

**Occupation**: Invader, Insane Goblin, Monk

**Clothing:** Goblin-Uniform (Leather), Goblin Helmet (Steel)

**Equipment:** PAK (Storage Device / Power-Source), Mechanical-Spider-Legs

**Weapons:** Mace (Glass)

**Spells:** None

_Tenn_: Based on Irken Invader Tenn from Invader Zim

**Gender**: Female

**Age**: ?

**Eye-Color:** Red

**Hair-Color**: Black

**Skin-Tone**: Emerald-Green

**Occupation**: Rogue (Scout)

**Clothing:** Goblin-Uniform (Leather), Goblin-Helmet (Steel)

**Equipment:** PAK (Storage Device)

**Weapons:** Dagger (x2) (Glass)

**Spells:** None

_Larb_: Based on Irken Invader Larb from Invader Zim

**Gender**: Male

**Age**: ?

**Eye-Color:** Red

**Hair-Color**: Black

**Skin-Tone**: Green

**Occupation**: Rogue (Trap-Maker)

**Clothing:** Goblin-Uniform (Leather), Goblin-Helmet (Steel)

**Equipment:** PAK (Storage Device)

**Weapons:** Short-Sword (Class)

**Spells:** None

_Zee_: Based on Irken Invader Zee from Invader Zim

**Gender**: Female

**Age**: ?

**Eye-Color:** Purple

**Hair-Color**: Black

**Skin-Tone**: Pale-Green

**Occupation**: Monk (Medic)

**Clothing:** Goblin-Medical-Uniform (Leather)

**Equipment:** PAK (Storage Device)

**Weapons:** ?

**Spells:** ?

_Skutch_: Based on Irken Invader Skutch from Invader Zim

**Gender**: Male

**Age**: ?

**Eye-Color:** Red

**Hair-Color**: Bald

**Skin-Tone**: Green

**Occupation**: Warrior (Guard)

**Clothing:** Goblin-Uniform (Leather), Goblin-Helmet (Steel)

**Equipment:** PAK (Storage Device)

**Weapons:** Short-Sword (Glass), Shield (Glass)

**Spells:** None

_Skoodge_: Based on Irken Invader Skoodge from Invader Zim

**Gender**: Male

**Age**: ?

**Eye-Color:** Red

**Hair-Color**: Auburn

**Skin-Tone**: Light-Green

**Occupation**: Warrior (Soldier)

**Clothing:** Goblin-Uniform (Leather), Goblin-Helmet (Steel)

**Equipment:** PAK (Storage Device)

**Weapons:** Ax(x2) (Glass)

**Spells:** None

_Miyuki_: "Deep-Snow" Based on Tallest Miyuki from Invader Zim

**Gender**: Female

**Age**: ?

**Eye-Color**: Azure

**Hair-Color**: Black

**Skin-Tone**: Green

**Occupation**: Mage (Shaman / Alchemist)

**Clothing**: Robes (cloth), Body-Armor (Leather), Waist-Cincher / Belts (Leather), boots (Steel Toed), Headdress (Steel)

**Equipment**: PAK (Storage Device), Poison (Various), Antidotes (Various), Potions (Various)

**Weapons**: Staff (Glass)

**Spells**: Heal, Restore, Revive, Arcane-Blast, Spirit-Shield, Arcane-Lance, Ice-Wall, Frost-Bolt, Snow-Storm, Icy-Wind, Frost-Daggers, Chill-Touch

_**Orcs**_:

_Gron Gar'amen_:

**Gender**: Male

**Age**: ?

**Eye-Color:** Yellow (Iris), Black (Pupil and Sclera)

**Hair-Color**: Black

**Skin-Tone**: Green

**Occupation**: Tora's father, Orc Leader

**Clothing:** Heavy-Orc Armor (Iron)

**Equipment:** ?

**Weapons:** War-Ax(x2) (Iron)

**Spells:** None

_Grunge Gar'amen_:

**Gender**: Male

**Age**: ?

**Eye-Color:** Yellow (Iris), Black (Pupil and Sclera)

**Hair-Color**: Black

**Skin-Tone**: Green

**Occupation**: Rogue (Ranger), Tora's bodyguard

**Clothing:** Hooded-Light-Armor (Leather)

**Equipment:** ?

**Weapons:** Long-Bow (Wood), Orc-Arrows (Rock), Hand Ax (x2) (Steel)

**Spells:** None

_**Naga**_:

_Stethno_:

**Gender**: Female

**Age**: ?

**Eye-Color**: Yellow (Slit Pupil)

"**Hair"-Color**: Violet snakes

**Skin-Tone**, Tanned (violet Scales)

**Occupation**: Naga-Queen, Gorgon

**Clothing**: Light-Naga-Mail (Jewel encrusted decorative "armor")

**Equipment**: Naga-crown (Jewel encrusted decorative "armor")

**Weapons**: ?

**Spells**: Stone-Gaze, Petrify, "Armor of Earth", Poison Bolt

_Manasa_:

**Gender**: Female

**Age**: 12

**Eye-Color**: Yellow (Slit Pupils)

**Hair-Color**: Dark-Red Strips

**Skin-tone**: Crimson-Scales, pale-red scales (underside)

**Occupation**: Monk (Naga-Priestess) (In-Training), Naruto's Fiancé

**Clothing**: Priestess' Vestments (Cloth)

**Equipment**: ?

**Weapons**: Snake-Staff

**Spells**: Poison Bolt, Poison Cloud, Shield, Heal, Cure, Restore

_**Lizard-Men**_:

_Slythe_: Based on Slythe from Thundercats

**Gender**: Male

**Age**: ?

**Eye-Color**: Yellow (Sclera / Iris), Black (Slit Pupil)

**Hair-Color**: None, Dark-Green Ridges

**Skin-Tone**: Green / White / Dark Green Spots

**Occupation**: Ambassador of the Lizardmen, Warrior

**Clothing**: Loincloth + Harness, Headdress (Steel), Wrist-band (Leather)

**Equipment**: None

**Weapons**: Mace

**Spells**: None

_Takato Guil_: Based on Takato and Guilmon from Digimon

**Gender**: Male

**Age**: ?

**Eye-Color**: Blue (Iris)

**Hair-Color**: None, Brown Ridges

**Skin-Tone**: Red / White, Black (Stripes)

**Occupation**: Troglodyte Digger, Warrior

**Clothing**: Goggles, blue-tunic, Bracers (Leather), Worn-Loincloth, Shin-Guards (Leather)

**Equipment**: None

**Weapons**: None

**Spells**: None

_Wrex_: Based on Wrex from Mass Effect

**Gender**: Male

**Age**: ?

**Eye-Color**: Red (Iris)

**Hair-Color**: None, Brown Ridges

**Skin-Tone**: Red / Yellow

**Occupation**: Former Chieftain, Battle-Master

**Clothing**: Platemail armor, platemail bracers, platemaile greaves, cloth loincloth

**Equipment**: Sheild

**Weapons**: Two Handed War-Ax

**Spells**: Shield, Repulse, Arcane Rush, War-Cry

_**Beast-Men**_:

_Panthro_: Based on Panthro of The Thundercats

**Gender**: Male

**Age**: ?

**Species**: Cat (Panther)

**Eye-Color**: Red

**Hair-Color**: Black

**Skin-Tone**: Blue Fur

**Occupation**: Mechanic, Warrior of Thundera

**Clothing**: Harness (Spiked), Gauntlets / Greaves (Spiked), pants (Cloth)

**Equipment**: None

**Weapons**: Nunchaku (Steel)

**Spells**: None

_Tali_: based on Tali'zorah Vas Normandy Nar Rayya

**Gender**: Female

**Age**: 16

**Species**: Faun

**Eye-Color**: Glowing White

**Hair-Color**: Black

**Skin-Tone**: pale

**Occupation**: Machinist, Explorer

**Clothing**: purple spiral cloth, black pouch belt, black harness, grey arm pouches, light grey greaves, grey bracers

**Equipment**: "enviro-suit", breath mask

**Weapons**: Dirk

**Spells**: _White-Magic_: Heal, Regen, Antidote, Dispel, Drain (Magic), Barrier

**Familiar / Pet**: Racoon: Chitikka Fastpaws…

_**Duergar**_:

_Gimli_: Based on Gimli from Lord of the Rings

**Gender**: male

**Age**: ?

**Eye-color**: White, sclera iris and pupil

**Hair-Color**: White with red spiny quils

**Skin-Tone**: Dark Grey

**Occupation**: Leader of the Duergar, warrior

**Clothing**: Chain mail armor, leather gloves, leather boots, and steel helmet

**Equipment**: None

**Weapons**: Twin Axes

**Spells**: None

_**Faeries**_:

_Jinx_: Based on Jinx from Teen Titans

**Gender**: Female

**Eye-Color**: Pink (Iris), Black Slit (Pupil)

**Hair-Color**: Pink

**Skin-Tone**: Ash-Grey, pink markings under eyes

**Occupation**: Dark-Magic Addict, Bad-Luck Faerie, Naruto's Third Familiar

**Clothing**: Clothes

**Spells**: Various Jinxes, Hexes, and Curses

_Wanda_: Based on Wanda from Fairly Odd Parents

**Gender**: Female

**Eye-Color**: Pink

**Hair-Color**: Pink

**Skin-Tone**: Fair

**Occupation**: Timmy's Familiar, House-Faerie, Jinx's Aunt

**Clothing**: Clothes, Goggles, Tool-Belt (Leather)

**Spells**: Cure, Heal, Revive, Restore, Regen, Cleanse, Sense, Life-Detection, Protective-Ward, Spirit-Shield, Dispel

_**Unseelie**_:

_Kori_: Based on Starfire from Teen Titans

**Gender**: Female

**Eye-Color**: Luminescent Green (Pupil / Iris / Sclera)

**Hair-Color**: Crimson

**Skin-Tone**: Orange

**Occupation**: Flame-Unseelie Queen, Naruto's First Familiar

**Clothing:** Magma gear (Rock)

**Spells:** Fireball, Flame Arrow, Flame Strike, Shock of Fire, Fire-Flares, Fire-Storm, Wave of Flame, Flamethrower, Fireworks, Ignite, Pyro-Blade, Wall of Fire, Pyro-Sheild

_Kara_: Based on Raven from Teen Titans

**Gender**: Female

**Eye-Color**: Luminescent Violet (Pupil / Iris), Black (Sclera)

**Hair-Color**: Black

**Skin-Tone**: Deep-Grey

**Occupation**: Shadow-Unseelie Queen, Naruto's Second Familiar

**Clothing:** Chain-Bone gear (Metal / Bone), Jewelry (Silver)

**Spells:** Engulfing Darkness, Dark-Bolt, Midnight Trance, Shadow-Step, Dark-Blade, Night-Eye, Cloak of Darkness, Claws of Darkness, Dark Possession, Shadowspray, Shadow Conjuration, Shield of Shadows

_Koma_: Based on Blackfire from Teen Titans

**Gender**: Female

**Eye-Color**: Violet

**Hair-Color**: Black

**Skin-Tone**: Light-Orange

**Occupation**: Metal-Unseelie Queen, Naruto's Fourth Familiar

**Clothing**: Metal-Gear, Fur-lined cloak, Faerie-crown

**Spells**: Resist Elements

_Duela_: Based on Duela from Red-X Rising

**Gender**: Female

**Eye-Color**: Violet

**Hair-Color**: Crimson

**Skin-Tone**: Alabaster White

**Occupation**: Poison Unseelie Queen, Naruto's Fifth Familiar

**Clothing**: Poison Gear, Organic Henna Tattoo (Note: Her clothes are made up of pieces from characters in Batman: Arkham Asylum / City, Namely Scarecrow, Bane, Harley, Ivy, and Cat-woman)

**Spells**: Poison Bolt, Harm Touch, Poison Cloud, Disease, Disease Blade, Disease Shield, Disease Trail, Infect, Poison Claw, Antidote, Remedy, Root, Barkskin, Pus-Storm

_Argent_: Based on Argent from Teen Titans…

**Gender**: Female

**Eye-Color**: Red

**Hair-Color**: Black (Red Bangs)

**Skin-Tone**: Silver

**Occupation**: Spirit-Unseelie Queen, Naruto's Sixth Familiar

**Clothing**: Spirit-Gear

**Spells**: Force-Push, Repulse, Arcane-Blast, Arcane Sheild, Spiritual-Weapon, Protective-Ward, Spirit-Shield, Life-Drain, Soul-Trap, Life-Detection, Dispel, Telekinesis

_**Undead**_:

_Sylvanas Windrunner_: The Dark Lady, the Banshee Queen, Queen of The Forsaken, "Mother"…

**Gender**: Female

**Age**: Deceased (Appears 20 – 30)

**Eye-color**: Glowing Red (Sclera, Iris, Pupil)

**Hair-Color**: Blond

**Skin-Tone**: Blue, Purple eye markings

**Species**: Formerly High-Elf

**Occupation**: Dark Ranger

**Clothing**: Cloak of the Banshee Queen, Breastplate of Sorrow, Cord of Lost Hope, Time-Travelers Leggings, Gauntlets of Temporal Interference, Thigh Length Armored Boots

**Equipment**: Quiver + Arrows, Sylvanas Windrunner's Gold Coin, Band of The Ranger General

**Weapons**: Windrunner Bow, Gloria

**Spells**: Silence, Black Arrow, Fade, Milti-Shot, Summon-Skeleton, Life-Drain, Charm, Decree of The Dark Lady

_Necrosis_…

**Gender**: Unknown (Assumed Male)

**Age**: Deceased (Unknown Age)

**Eye-color**: Glowing green

**Hair-Color**: Unknown

**Skin-Tone**: Unknown

**Species**: Unknown

**Occupation**: Necromancer

**Clothing**: White hooded over-coat, armored pauldrons (Steel), gauntlets (Steel / leather), black slacks, knee length boots (Leather)

**Equipment**: Unknown

**Weapons**: Unknown

**Spells**: Unknown

_**Other**_:

_Tak_: Based on Irken Tak from Invader Zim

**Gender**: Female

**Age**: 11 (15)

**Eye-Color:** Violet

**Hair-Color**: Violet

**Skin-Tone**: Pale-Green

**Species**: Half-Goblin, Half Human

**Occupation**: Servant, Warrior (Elite-Guard)

**Clothing:** Custom Goblin-Uniform (Leather)

**Equipment:** PAK (Storage Device)

**Weapons:** Throwing Knives (x20) (Glass), Throwing Knives (X13) (Steel)

**Spells:** None

_Echo_:

**Gender**: Male

**Age**: 15 (19)

**Eye-Color:** Red

**Hair-Color**: Black

**Skin-Tone**: Pale-Green

**Species**: Half-Goblin, Half Human

**Occupation**: Tak's Brother, Engineer, Warrior

**Clothing:** Custom Goblin-Uniform (Leather), Goggles, Workers Gloves (Leather)

**Equipment:** PAK (Storage Device / Power-Source)

**Weapons:** Short-Sword (x2) (Glass), Shield (Glass)

**Spells:** None

_Tora_:

**Gender**: Female

**Age**: 16

**Eye-Color:** Crimson (Iris), Black (Pupil and Sclera)

**Hair-Color**: Black

**Skin-Tone**: Dark-Green

**Species**: Half-Orc Half-Drow,

**Occupation**: Warrior

**Clothing:** Cloth-Bikini / Loincloth, boots (Leather)

**Equipment:** ?

**Weapons:** Falchion (Steel)

**Spells:** None

_Rika_: Based on Rika Nonaka _**and**_ Renamon from Digimon

**Gender**: Female

**Age**: 12

**Eye-Color**: Violet

**Hair-Color**: Yellow, White (Tips), Red-Orange (Streaks)

**Skin-Tone**: Yellow / White Fur

**Species**: Half-Human Half-Lilmothiit

**Occupation**: Naruto's Fiancé, Monk (Fighter), Shinobi (Student)

**Clothing**: Light Gear

**Equipment**: ?

**Weapons**: ?

**Spells**: ?

**Jutsu**: ?

_Maleficent_: "Mal" based on Maleficent of Sleeping Beauty

**Gender**: Female

**Age**: 12

**Eye-Color**: Yellow (Iris / Sclera), Black Slit (Pupil)

**Hair-Color**: White

**Skin-Tone**: Pale Green, Black Scales

**Species**: Shadow-DragonKin

**Occupation**: Sorceress

**Clothing**: Drow Dress

**Equipment**: Familiar: Diablo (Raven)

**Weapons**: Staff

**Spells**:

_**Electric Magic**_: Lightning Bolt, Lightning Stream

_**Fire Magic**_: Fireball, Flamethrower

_**Wind Magic**_: Gust, Gale

_**Earth Magic**_: Quake, Rock-Spike

_**Shadow-Magic**_: Blades of Darkness, Shadow-Step

_**Enchantments**_: Sleep

_**Illusion**_: Glamour

_**Conjuration**_: Rising Thorns

**Bloodline**: Dragons-Blood (Dragon-Form: Shadow-Dragon)

_Naruto_: "Prince of Blades"

**Gender**: Male

**Age**: 12

**Eye-Color:** Luminescent Blue (Pupil / Iris), Black (Sclera)

**Hair-Color**: Blond (Half White)

**Skin-Tone**: Silver (Scales)

**Species**: Abyss-DragonKin

**Occupation**: Overlord (In Training), Rogue (Assassin), Monk (Brawler)

**Clothing:** Waist-Cincher / Loincloth + Harness (Leather), Pauldron (Leather), Gauntlets (Leather), Greaves (Leather), Clothes (Cloth), Spirit-Cloak (Tattered Red Cloth), Face-Mask (Leather)

**Equipment:** Faerie-Satchel (Leather), Minds-Eye Crown (Steel), Finger-Claws (Steel), Toe/Claw-Caps (Steel), Lock-Picks

**Relics / Trinkets**: Shadow-Gem(x5), Venom-Fang, Overlord-Bracelets (Adamantine), Soul-Mask (King), Soul-Mask (Prince)

**Weapons:** Sword of Plun-Darr

**Spells:**

_**Electric Magic**_: Lightning-Whip, Static-Charge

_**Combined (Fire + Lightning) Plasma Magic**_: Plasma-Shot

_**Fire Magic**_: Fireball, Flamethrower

_**Shadow Magic**_: Engulfing Darkness, Blades of Darkness, Shadow-Step, Dark-Bolt

_**Spirit Magic**_: Arcane Blast

_**Void-Magic**_: Assassins Rush, Burning Torrent, Time, Magic-Shaping, Bloodlust-Aura…

**Jutsu**: Kawarimi no Jutsu (Substitution Technique), Henge (Transformation), Oiroke no Jutsu (Sexy Technique)

**Bloodline**: Dragons-Blood (Breath-Weapon: Acid/Poison Cloud) (Wings of The Dragon), Court-of-Blades (Void-Magic)

_**OVERLORD-OBJECTS**_…

**Overlord-Heart**: Obtained…

**Health-Column**: X4

**Mana-Pillar**: X4

**Minion-Totem**: X4

**Spell-Catalysts**: ?

**Steel-Smelter**: Obtained…

**Adamantine Smelter**: Obtained…

**Durium Smelter**: Obtained…

**Mithril Smelter**: ?

**Arcanium Smelter**: ?

**Moulds**: ?

**Forge-Stones**: ?

**Transport-Generator**: Obtained…

**Throne-of-Agony**: ?

(Minion-Objects)

**Giblet's Armory**: Obtained…

**Quaver's Harp**: ?

**Gnarl's Chair**: Obtained…

**Grubby's Drill**: Obtained…

**Zap's Fountain**: ?

**Blaze's Furnace**: ?

**Stench's Garden**: Obtained…

**Well of Souls**: ?

**Tower Tailoring Device**: Obtained…

**Beer Kettle**: Plans Obtained…

**Iron-Maiden**: ?

_**MINION-HIVES**_…

**Grey-Hive**: Obtained…

**Brown-Hive**: Obtained…

**Red-Hive**: ?

**Blue-Hive**: ?

**Green-Hive**: Obtained…

**Active Minions**: 31

**Horde Size**: 20

_**OVERLORD-CONTROLLED LANDS**_…

_**Elemental-Nations**_…

**The Void**: Controlled…

**Hi-no-Kuni**: In-Progress…

**Konoha**: ?

**Forest of Death**: ?

**Unnamed Human Settlement**: Unfound…

**Dark-Tower**: Unfound…

**Underworld**: In-Progress…

**Goblin-Sector**: Occupied…

**Orc-Sector**: Occupied…

**Naga-Sector**: Occupied…

**Lizard-man-Sector**: Occupied…

**Duergar Keep**: Occupied…

**Drow-Sector**: Hostile…

**Center-Sector**: Hostile…

_**ALLIED DARK RACES AND THEIR LEADERS**_…

**Minions (Gremlins)**: Naruto

**Goblins**: Miyuki

**Orcs**: Grom Gar'Amen

**Naga (Snake-Folk)**: Stethno

**Lizard-Folk (Iksar)**: Naruto

**Gnolls (Hyena-Folk)**: Shenzi

**Frogloks (Bullywugs / Frog-Folk)**: Bio Bog-Water

**Ratonga (Rat-Folk / Cobolds)**: Rataro

**Lilmothiit (Fox-Folk)**: Zorua

**The Court**: Naruto (Prince of Blades…)

**Duergar (Grey-Dwarves)**: Gimli…

_**QUEST LOG**_: I figured that this might help if anyone is getting a few facts mixed up…

_**MAIN QUEST**_:

_**The Dark Alliance**_: Unite The Dark Races of the lands together to face off against The Betrayers Allies.

**Part 1**: **Goblins**: _Complete_. With the defeat of Red and Purple, Naruto has obtained the alliance of The Goblin Horde! Zim and Tak added as Followers, Goblin Equipment now creatable, Tanto and Armlet obtained.

**Part 2**: **Orcs**: _Complete_. The Mammoth Ants are dead and The Orcs have agreed to join Naruto's cause! Grunge and Tora added as Followers, Orc Equipment now creatable, Bone-Mask obtained.

**Part 3**: **Naga**: _Complete_. The Naga have joined Naruto's growing alliance, for a small price… Manasa obtained as fiancé, Naga Equipment now creatable, Poison-Fang Obtained, gained Acid Breath ability.

**Part 4**: **Lizard-Folk**: _Complete_. The Mind Flayer is gone, Viathen is dead, and Naruto is the new chieftain; The Lizard Folk are at his beck and call! Slythe added as Follower, Lizard-Folk equipment now creatable, obtained The Sword of Plunn-Dar. Lost Facemask (Bone)…

**Part 5**: **Beast-Folk**: _Complete_. The Ambassadors of some of the Beast Races have visited you in Castle Plun-Darr, new alliances with them have been forged! Obtained 2 Followers (Rika and Takato), Beast-Folk Equipment now creatable…

**Part 6**: **Duergar**: The Grey Dwarf leader Gimli has asked for aid in retaking his home, defeat the Drow and retake the Dwarven City! Obtained new Familiar (Void-Walker), obtained (1) Shadow-Gem. Lost Dirk.

_**Bond with the Overlord-Heart**_: _Complete_. Naruto has bonded with the Overlord-Heart; the balance within him has been restored, and his true path is set. Garandou (Void)…

_**Minions-Unite**_: Retrieve The Lost Minion Hives!

**Part 1**: **Browns**: _Complete_. The Browns have been retrieved from The Goblins!

**Part 2**: **Greens**: _Complete_. The Greens are back, welcome The Stealth Army home!

"_**Will of The Wild"**_: A strange boy with unknown powers? Investigate immediately!

**Part 1**: _Complete_. The boy, an Archon was captured! Lost Flame Gauntlet…

**Part 2**: _Complete_. Speak with Gnarl about the strange young Archon.

**Part 3**: _Complete_. Will has joined you on your quest… Obtained 1 Follower (Will)…

"_**Prince of Blades"**_: Take up the long forgotten throne of the Court of Blades…

**Part 1**: _Complete_. Pass the first challenge of The King of Blades… Obtained Quiver + Arrows, Scabbard, Book, and Ring of Blades…

**Part 2**: _Complete_. Pass the Test of Will… Lost Book… Obtained Void-Magic: Assassins Rush, Void-Magic: Burning Torrent…

**Part 3**: _Complete_. Pass the Test of Skill… Lost Quiver + Arrows… Obtained Void-Magic: Time, Void-Magic: Magic-Shaping…

**Part 4**: _Complete_. Pass the Test of Strength… Obtained Caliburn… Lost Scabbard + Caliburn… Obtained Void-Magic: Bloodlust-Aura, Dragon-Bloodline: Wings of The Dragon…

**Part 5**: _Complete_. Speak with the The King of Blades…

**Part 6**: _Complete_. Defeat The King of Blades!

**Part 7**: _Complete_. Accept your prize as the newest member of The Court… Lost-Ring of Blades… Obtained Mask-Of-Blades (Prince), Court-of-Blades Bloodline awakened…

"_**Meet the family"**_. Never trust family…

**Part 1**: _Complete_. Learn of the ancient Overlords…

**Part 2**: _Complete_. See the remains of Kushina…

**Part 3**: _Complete_. Meet Theresa, The Bandit Queen / Blind Seeress…

**Part 4**: Meet Flemeth, The Dragon Queen / Witch of The Wild…

_**Locate The Dark-Tower**_: It's time for The Overlord to finally return home…

**Part 1**: Locate The Human Settlement where Jinx once lived.

_**Cats Lair**_: Save the cat-folk from the treachery of Grune…

**Part 1**: Reach the Cat's home…

_**Fallen Heroes**_: Find and destroy the heroes who helped murder Kushina…

_**End of Betrayal**_: Destroy The Betrayer once and for all…

_**SIDE QUESTS**_:

_**Locate All Tower Objects**_: Retrieve the lost Tower-Objects from across the Elemental Nations…

_**Faerie Familiars**_: Obtain familiars from the Fey to continue your quest…

**Part 1**: _Complete_. Kori, Queen of the Flame Unseelie has joined Naruto. Obtained First Crown

**Part 2**: _Complete_. Kara, Queen of the Shadow Unseelie has joined Naruto. Obtained Shadow Gem.

**Part 3**: _Complete_. Jinx, Dark-Magic-Addicted House Faerie, has joined Naruto. Obtained Bad-Luck Aura, bad luck is very attracted to Jinx and Naruto.

**Part 4**: _Complete_. Koma, Queen of The Metal Unseelie has joined Naruto. Obtained Unseelie Enchanters, Metal Workers, and Smiths.

**Part 5**: _Complete_. Duela, Queen of The Poison Unseelie has joined Naruto.

**Part 6**: _Complete_. Argent, Queen of the Mana Unseelie has joined Naruto. Obtained Spirit-Cloak (Tattered red cloth).

_**Baptism by Fire**_: The Royals of Fire-Nation have called on your aide…

**Part 1**: _Complete_. Located Azula in the forest and dealt with the Bandits she pursued.

**Part 2**: _Complete_. Azula was returned to her father without much incident!

**Part 3**: Wait for a summons by Ozai…

_**Servants in Waiting**_: Meet the servants obtained from Bandits…

**Part 1**: _Complete_. Speak with Gnarl about the woman retrieved from the bandits.

**Part 2**: _Complete_. Meet the women retrieved from the bandits.

**Part 3**: _Complete_. Naruto decided to release those with family, while the rest have decided to stay at his side… Obtained 6 Servants…

_**Forgotten Treasures**_: Inspect the treasures collected from the bandits…

**Complete**: You obtained the bandits treasure! Obtained Gold and Heroes Guild Seal…

_**Suit Up**_: New armor to replace that which was lost…

**Complete**: You obtained New Armor from The Forge-Master! Obtained new Light Leather / Steel Armor and Equipment…

_**Expedition to New Lands**_: Use The Tower Teleportation Device to Visit Other Lands…

**Part 1**: _Complete_. Speak with Gnarl about visiting Lands outside The Elemental Nations…

**Part 2**: _Complete_. Find a Relic that will allow transport to a new land…

**Part 3**: _Complete_. Explore Albion… Obtained: Obtained New Ally (Rose), Obtained new weapons: Guns and a Dirk…

**Part 4**: Find new lands to explore…

"_**Idol Fantasy**_": Destroy the idol that Sam and Max disturbed…

**Part 1**: _Complete_. Meet Sam and Max Spade…

**Part 2**: _Complete_. Defend Sam and Max from the Hollow-Men…

**Part 3**: _Complete_. Locate the cursed Idol…

**Part 4**: _Complete_. Destroy the cursed Idol…

**Part 5**: _Complete_. Force a reward out of Sam and Max… Obtained: Shadow Dragon Egg…

_**A Friend in Need**_: The Drow's prisoners are their enemies, and as they say about the enemy of your enemy…

_Complete_. The prisoners were freed! Obtained new Allies: Tali, Wrex, and Maleficent…

_**Pilgrimage**_: Aide Tali in finding her peoples homeland…

_**Fallen Chief**_: Decide the fate of Wrex as the former and worthy leader of the Lizardmen…

_**The Debt to be repaid**_. Once long ago, a deal was made…

**Part 1**: Learn of Will's debt…

_**Restoring Kyuubi**_: Form a body for Kyuubi to inhabit…

**Part 1**: Speak with Gnarl about the restoration of Kyuubi's body…

_**Path of The Shadow Knight**_: A group of powerful warriors and assassins once feared across the lands, it is now time for them to return.

**Part 1**: Speak with Gnarl about learning The Shadow Knight specialization…

_**Seeking Truth**_: Learn more about the world and its people…

**Part1**: Speak with Shin The Librarian…

_**The Bigger they are**_: Learn to deal with larger / stronger foes with greater ease…

**Part 1**: Speak with Snake The Green…

_**Sinister Shadows**_: Learn to avoid detection…

**Part 1**: Speak with Slash / Stench…

_**Fists full of fight**_: Learn the basics of Monk class fighting.

**Complete**: Spoke with and learned from Giblet The Forge Master! Basic Hand To Hand learned, Obtained "Metal Claws (Steel)"

_**Tunnel Lover**_: Have Grubby start work on expanding the caverns of The Underworld…

**Part 1**: Speak with Grubby the Miner Minion…

**Links to pics from this story**… remove Spaces to go to link…

_**The Dragon Overlord**_: 26lordpain. deviantart gallery/? offset=96#/d4hawi7

_**The Deal that was Made**_: 26lordpain. deviantart gallery/? offset=48#/d4ii7a9

_**The Skyrim Saga**_: 26lordpain. deviantart gallery/? offset=48#/d4j1lfo

_**Before the Fall**_: 26lordpain. deviantart gallery/? offset=48#/d4k8z4e

_**Shadows of the Dragons**_: 26lordpain. deviantart gallery/? offset=48#/d4k8za0

_**The Saga Continues**_: 26lordpain. deviantart gallery/? offset=48#/d4k8zgb

_**Return of the Lich King**_: 26lordpain. deviantart gallery/? offset=48#/d4k8zlz

_**Older Ayane**_: 26lordpain. deviantart gallery/? offset=24#/d4n2bkp

_**Mal and The Overlord**_: 26lordpain. deviantart gallery/? offset=24#/d4ovi73

_**Grim Madness**_: 26lordpain. deviantart gallery/? offset=0#/d4w9atw

_**Sam the Spriggan**_: 26lordpain. deviantart gallery/? offset=0#/d4w9bfi

_**Underworld Companions**_: 26lordpain. deviantart gallery/? offset=0#/d4w9by8

_**Lilith and The Betrayer**_: 26lordpain. deviantart gallery/? offset=0#/d4w9cbk

_**The Dragon Overlord 2.0**_: 26lordpain. deviantart gallery/? offset=0#/d4w9d0h

_**A look at the future**_: 26lordpain. deviantart gallery/? offset=0#/d4w9dnl

_**A Knights Tale**_: 26lordpain. deviantart gallery/? offset=0#/d4w9e2n

_**Quest to be Queen**_: 26lordpain. deviantart gallery/? offset=0#/d4w9eko

_**Overlord Bracelet 2.0**_: 26lordpain. deviantart gallery/? offset=0#/d4w9f2m

_**Faeries Pt1**_: 26lordpain. deviantart gallery/? offset=0#/d4w9fsh

_**Faeries Pt2**_: 26lordpain. deviantart gallery/? offset=0#/d4w9g04

_**Faeries Pt3**_: 26lordpain. deviantart gallery/? offset=0#/d4w9gb6

_**Faeries Pt4**_: 26lordpain. deviantart gallery/? offset=0#/d4w9gv6

_**Team Overlord**_: 26lordpain. deviantart gallery/? offset=0#/d4x7rsc


End file.
